All is Hell That Ends Well
by DwarfTorja
Summary: Agent Tennessee swaps places with Agent Texas at Blood Gulch, aware that the Privates she would be assisting would be complete idiots. However, she makes close friendships in the most unlikely of places, and she discovers that they really weren't as bad as Texas said they would have been. Caboose x OC-Sarge x OC There will be Grimmons! Rated M for language & future chapters.
1. Agent Tennessee

**Chapter 1:**

**Agent Tennessee**

It was a calm and peaceful dawn in Blood Gulch canyon. A perfect view of the Halo ring cast over the heads of Spartans, and the sun shone down on the grass , and reflected on the blue ocean. Behind Red base, the sound of the ocean hitting the sandy ground overrun the footsteps that echoed in the dark, metallic structure that the Reds called home. Across from them, on the other side of the pasture, the Blues were situated, surrounded by large hills and mountains, a tank accompanying them. As usual, Leonard Church stood upon the circular structure, eyes of a hunter scanning the area, behind the helmet of a Spartan soldier, covered in Cobalt armour. They were all the same there, he knew, yet the rivalry between them stood as tall as the highest mountain, and as strong as a pack of wolves. Behind him, stood Tucker, a lean Spartan with turquoise armour - he carried a magnum on his upper leg, and in his hands was a DMR, whereas Church had an assault rifle and a sniper on his back. Inside the base, sat Caboose. Caboose was slightly smaller than the other two, and he possessed blue armour. He didn't have any guns on him, but beside him, a sniper was propped against a wall, and a magnum lay on the floor. He was leant against the wall, and his head had rolled back a little, but he wasn't asleep: He was thinking. Caboose thought a lot, mostly about things he didn't want anyone else to know. Such as how old he really was, and what he aspired to do. In all honesty, he just wanted to be alone most of the time. That didn't mean he wasn't happy, because he was, but he'd much rather be alone than to feel unwanted by others. The blue Spartan turned his head as Agent Texas prowled through the base, her eyes falling upon him briefly, filled with an almost obnoxious disgust before she walked past him and away again. Caboose sighed, and folded his arms on his knees, resting his head on them. Above him, Texas joined Church and Tucker, standing beside Church and gazing mindlessly across the landscape.

"I called in for another Freelancer." She gave him a hardy look. "I have to leave, but this other Freelancer will be good for you guys. Much better than myself." Church met her gaze.

"What do you mean?" He began. "No one's better tha-" Texas butted him with the back of her DMR.

"Don't start with the 'No one's better than you, Texas, I love you Texas.'" She pulled a mocking expression behind her visor, and Church huffed. "She's like a sister to me and-"

"Woah, woah. _She?_" Tucker piped in, and bother Church and Texas rolled their eyes. "No, no, I don't mean I want to hook up, _not yet anyway_, just … there's more of you?" Texas gave Tucker a challenging look, and nodded slowly.

"She's easy to get along with." She turned to Church again. "Just don't piss her off. She's tougher than me, but not smarter. That's what keeps her behind me a little, but she's good-hearted, and she'll fit in just right here." Church nodded.

"What do you mean 'fit in'?" Church asked, and looked at Tucker, then back at Texas. "Do you mean she's not as …"

"Strict?" Texas filled in for him, and when he nodded she replied; "Well, yes, she's a little … eccentric. I trained with her. She's a great marksman, assassin and shot-gunner." Church exhaled.

"Well, okay." He murmured. "I just hope she really _does_ fit in. I trust what you say, Tex."

"Is there, uh, going to be a, um, new recruit?" The three of them turned to Caboose who was clenching onto his sniper like it was his lifeline. Church hesitated, then nodded.

"Yes, Caboose, a new recruit." He replied bluntly, and then looked back at Texas. "I'll see you around, Tex." The female in dark armour nodded as a falcon landed near the base. Texas turned and jumped off of the base, walking towards the falcon when another female jumped out of the back of it, also wearing black armour. The two stood in front of each other for a moment, then gave the most awkward of hugs before Texas turned and pointed in their direction. Caboose sauntered forwards and watched the two females cautiously, curious at the new arrival. He knew how it would go;

They'd turn up, talk to him, find him annoying, then leave him alone for a while. But then again, they'd be sick of Tucker's flirting, and Church's asshole-ness. The blue Spartan sighed to himself, still watching the two talking. Eventually, Texas punched the recruits shoulder and hopped into the Falcon. As the aircraft took off, the recruit waved at Texas who waved back, and then turned and began to walk towards the blue team's base.

The adrenaline ran through Avery Williamson as she walked towards the Blues Base. She knew Texas wasn't as much of a fun-lover as she was, so of course she would say negative things about them. However, as Avery neared them, she noticed there were three of them and each of them were staring at her as she neared. In her hands, she carried a Sniper, which she then put on her back when she stood in front of the base. A light-blue Spartan hopped down in front of her, and held out his hand.

"Hey," He murmured. "I'm Church. Welcome to Blue Team." Avery nodded, and shook his hand.

"Tennessee." She replied, and smiled. "I prefer to be more casual than Texas, so feel free to be yourself." Church chuckled, as a Turquois-Armoured Spartan joined them.

"Tennessee, hunh?" He repeated, and nodded. "Tucker." Tennessee nodded at the Spartan before her. The last Spartan was a little shorter than the other two. He had rich blue armour which was covered in scratches and scrapes. He didn't say anything though – He just stared at the Freelancer as though he were mute.

"Uh. This is Caboose." Church murmured, nudging the Private beside him. "He's usually more talkative. Maybe he's a little shy or scared." Caboose glanced at Church, and then looked back at Tennessee.

"Um. No. I, uh. I just didn't know what to, um … say." He said nervously. Tennessee nodded to him.

"Texas mentioned you a lot over the intercom." She smiled, and Caboose looked up at her wearily. She hoped that would induce conversation, but this guy seemed completely awkward and oblivious to everything going on around him. She kind of felt sorry for him, because it was almost as though he had hardly any social interaction whatsoever. Caboose, on the other hand, was fully aware of the kind of things Texas would have said about him. He tried not to think about it most of the time, but Tennessee kept the sentence hanging in the air, and it made him feel a little awkward. What Church had said was partly correct – He was a little scared, and it was all because of Texas. Agent Texas wasn't exactly the nicest of people to Caboose. Then again, nobody ever really was. Caboose stood still, waiting for someone to say something, and when nobody did, Church tapped his leg and coughed lightly.

"Well, uh." He took a sidelong glance at Caboose. It looked more like a warning to Caboose, however. "Caboose, do you want to show Tennessee around? You can show her Sheila if you would like to." Caboose seemed to perk up a little, but his stomach felt funny, thinking about being with a Freelancer by himself.

"Um. Okay." He looked at Tennessee briefly, who nodded at him, and he looked away. "Sheila is, uh … This way …" As Caboose walked away with Tennessee in tow, Tucker looked up at Church, and nudged him lightly.

"She's nothing like Texas." He murmured, and Church looked down at him.

"What do you mean? Of course she is." Church narrowed his eyes. "They're both Freelancers."

"Yeah, I know that, but …" Tucker stared at Tennessee's back, he seemed totally suspicious. "I thought all Freelancers hated Privates." Church put a fist on his hip.

"I know." He murmured simply. "But you've got to remember, we've only met very few Freelancers. There's going to be one that's a little more fun-loving than the rest of them." Church sighed also, and started to walk back into the base. "I can tell she'll be interesting. Let's just not piss her off." Tucker stared at Church again, then looked back at Tennessee who was stood beside Caboose, both observing the tank before them that seemed to look back at them using the turret. He gritted his teeth slightly, then followed Church into the Blue Base.

AN: This is much shorter than previous Fics I've written, but don't be disheartened - Chapters will get better and longer! I actually haven't seen on OC x Caboose, so why not. ;)


	2. Michael J Caboose

**Chapter 2**

**Michael J. Caboose**

"Well, uh." Caboose started. "This is um... Sheila." The tanks turret was aimed at Caboose, but the Spartan showed no fear of the large mechanical structure. He appeared to feel completely comfortable around it, so when its large turret turned to Tennessee, she showed no sign of fear, and she smiled.

"Hello, Sheila." She murmured and the tank happened to acknowledge her presence. Caboose touched the tanks frame lightly and it turned its attention back to him.

"Sheila, this is Tennessee." He introduced the Freelancer. "She is, ah, working with the Blue Team for a while." The tank turned back to Tennessee and said in a monotonic voice;

"Hello, Tennessee, it is nice to meet you." Tennessee nodded to the tank. Caboose seemed a little happier now the two had met, and he turned to look around.

"I guess I should, uh … show you the bases." He murmured, and gestured for the Freelancer to follow him as the tank went into shutdown. The clambered up a steep hill that overlooked the whole of Blood Gulch, and Tennessee looked around in a slight awe. For a battlefield, it was rather pretty, and the views were stunning. Caboose pointed a finger at the Red Base, where Tennessee noted three soldiers stood on top of it. Another walked out from the entrance, and seemed to command them.

"The bright red one; That's uh, Sarge." Caboose seemed a little nervous, still. "The crimson one is Simmons, The golden one is Grif and the pink one is Donut." He paused. "It is, ah, probably not a good idea if you say Donut's armour is pink though. He gets pretty angry." Tennessee nodded, and her visor zoomed in onto Sarge, who, hence is name, was obviously the leader of the Reds.

"So Church is the leader of the Blues?" She murmured a nod from Caboose. "And Sarge is for the Reds?" Another nod. "That makes sense." Caboose let her study them a little longer, before her turned to her again.

"I can show you around the Blue base now." He said, sounding a little excited. "I can show you all of our rooms and everything." Tennessee nodded to the ecstatic blue soldier.

"Sure thing."

Church greeted them as they walked into Blue Base, and as Tennessee predicted, almost everything was blue, besides the metallic walls that held the structure together. Church was stood in the corner, examining the guns they possessed, while Tucker laid on a couch near the rear of the building, a small Elite on his stomach. Tennessee didn't pose any threat towards this Elite, because it was apparent that it was young. It turned, and said "Blarg!" Then Tucker looked down at it, before glancing across at Tennessee.

"Oh. That's Tennessee." He murmured as the baby Elite grabbed one of his fingers. "Tennessee, this is Junior. He's my son." He paused. "You'll get used to it." Caboose turned to Tennessee.

"Tucker got infected by an Alien and the Alien laid its eggs in him." He sighed. "We try not to think about that …"

"Yeah, thanks Caboose." Tucker sighed, and Church chuckled from across the room, setting down his assault rifle. The Elite jumped off of Tuckers lap, and trotted over to Tennessee, gazing up at her curiously.

"Blarg! Honk!" It raised its arms, and the Freelancer's eyebrows raised before she knelt down and picked up the Elite. It happily rested in her arms, then looked over at Tucker and murmured. "Blarg Chicka Honk Honk." Tucker's eyes widened, and Church burst out laughing as Caboose and Tennessee stood awkwardly, Tennessee carrying a small Elite, which was undeniably adorable. Tucker then frowned, and sat upright as Church leant against the wall.

"It looks like Junior's more of a natural with the ladies." He chuckled, and Tucker scowled at the base's leader.

"Can it, Church." He grumbled. "Kids love a new person, that's all." Junior looked up at Tennessee and lightly touched her visor, wondering what was behind the thick lens, before squirming out of her grasp and jumping back onto Tucker's lap, his eyes still locked onto the Freelancer curiously. Caboose touched Tennessee's arm by mistake, then flinched away as she looked at him, but nothing happened, so he straightened upright.

"I will show you the rooms." He murmured, and they left the living room. There was a slope downwards, then a long corridor heading both left and right. They turned right, and Caboose named each one as they passed them. First on the right was Churches, then Tucker and Juniors, then someone called "Sister" but Caboose explained she had disappeared, and they assumed she was dead, and at the very end was Cabooses. His was obviously a smaller, boxed-in room than all the others. It was then Tennessee realised why the Private was so quiet, nervous and shy. If they were in a pack of wolves, he would have been the Omega, the one who's always last and never complains about it. Tennessee felt a sudden sympathy for the Private, and although he appeared completely nuts, she was sure there was a side of him that he hadn't shown them all. Her room was at the far end, next to Cabooses – she wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not, but she'd find out soon enough. On the left hand side of the hallway, there was a weapon closet, an armour closet, and a miscellaneous storage area that was bolted shut with a password and multiple locks. Tennessee sighed, and she knew it was going to be a long few months for her.

Instead of sleeping, the Freelancer stayed awake, looking around her new home with curiosity. It wasn't long before she escaped the base and started to walk outside of it to explore the grounds. She had left her weapons at the base, apart from her knife, because she knew these Reds weren't going to be any more dangerous than her own team.

She found a lake within a cave, and stood by it curiously, wondering how the water got there in the first place, and then she focused on her reflection, wondering why she was there. Before long, she realised there was another reflection of a Spartan in there, and she frowned, before looking up at a Red Spartan before her, a shotgun clenched in his hands, pointed directly at her.

"State your business, private." He said, a somewhat rich accent filled his voice, but she couldn't figure out where it was from.

"I neither am a Private nor possess business." She straightened her back. "Lower your weapon." The Red Spartan's arms twitched, but his gun did not lower.

"If you're not a Private," He grunted. "Then what in Sam Hell are ya?" Tennessee folded her arms and leant on one leg more than another.

"I'm a Freelancer." She murmured, and the Red Spartan lowered his shotgun. "I am replacing Texas' duties." The Red Spartan growled a little.

"How do ah know you're not going ta kill me?" The Spartan said gruffly, and Tennessee raised her arms.

"Oh, Come on," She felt slightly irritated. "Do I look as though I am in the position to oppose you?" The Red Spartan looked her up and down, then his posture relaxed.

"I suppose not." He nodded. "Name's Sarge. I'm the leader of the Red Team." Tennessee remembered seeing him before, when Caboose was around.

"I'm Agent Tennessee." She nodded back. "Newcomer to the Blue Team; I won't cause you hassle unless you cause us hassle." Sarge was already intrigued by this new Freelancer. She held her authority, he noticed, but she didn't use it against anyone. He just wished she was on his team and not the Blues. The red soldier nodded once.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tennessee." He said formally. "Let us hope we never have to fight it out. I can see you're a tough'un." The Freelancer smirked under her helmet.

"I doubt that'll happen, Sarge."

That night, Michael J. Caboose found it hard to sleep. He tried turning, lying on one side, his back, his front, even sleeping sitting up, but try as he might, unconsciousness wouldn't take him away. He knew why though; He was afraid of this Freelancer. She felt different to him than Texas did, and Caboose didn't know whether to trust her or not. It wasn't that he didn't trust Texas, because he knew very well she had saved his sorry ass more than once (And she wasn't afraid to justify that.), but because he didn't understand what was going through his own head. Usually, the cobalt Private would be aware of whatever his simple mind was thinking, but for once, it was too complicated. Eventually, he gave up, and waltzed across his room. The Spartan was wearing a blue shirt with his name on the back and grey tracksuit bottoms, his wild blonde hair messy atop of his head, piercing blue eyes searching for something to do. His gaze fell upon his desk, where numerous drawings lay; mostly of Church, Tucker and Texas. He hadn't drawn Tennessee; He felt almost afraid to. The dark-armoured Freelancer intimidated him greatly, and he considered going for a walk, but he wasn't sure where she was.

Caboose quickly shoved his cobalt armour on, his helmet under his arm, before creaking open the door slightly. He tentatively peered through the crack he had made, checking for any sign of movement. After a minute or so, he opened the door and squeezed himself out, closing it quietly behind him. He moved silently along the corridor, where the walls felt as though they were trying to pressurise him, hold him captive and close to them. He moved a little quicker now, trying to not make any noise. Suddenly, he bumped into something – or someone – and the noise on metal on metal clanged through the bases hall, reverbing and droning on. Caboose stiffened, and he froze up, not wanting to talk, listening for the sound of any soldier that might have awoken. Instead, a feminine voice perked up, and he bit his lip. Whoops.

"Sorry." The female murmured, and seemed to reach forwards. Caboose knew this because the metal on his chest pushed against him a little, then the pressure moved to his shoulder. "Caboose? That's you, right?" Caboose hesitated – How did she know it was him?

"Y- yeah." He muttered. "It's me." There was a small rustle as Tennessee moved slightly.

"I thought so," She said softly. "What are you doing up so late?" The clock in her visor said 3:29. Caboose fell silent before murmuring in reply;

"I could not sleep." He tried to avoid why, but Tennessee pressed him on.

"Is something bothering you, Caboose?" She asked, and then Caboose flinched.

"Um, no." Caboose lied. "I'm just not tired." Naturally, he yawned afterwards, and Tennessee chuckled.

"If you say so." The female Spartan edged her way around Caboose, careful not to bump into him again. "I'm going to bed." She stated, her night vision activating suddenly, and she was staring at the face of a human, not a helmet: She smiled under her visor. "I'll see you in the morning. Maybe you can teach me the ways of the Blues or something." She patted his shoulder as he nodded, then sauntered back to her room, the cobalt Spartan staring after her cautiously. When he heard the click of her door shutting, he frowned, and walked to the roof of the base, sitting down under the stars and staring at the dark scenery that befell him. His thoughts weren't negative any more – he could see that maybe, just maybe, for once in his life, someone was going to accept him into their life, and he could finally get along with someone. The azure-eyed Spartan smiled, closing his eyelids, and sighing, the cool breeze of the night fumbling his hair, and stroking his face gently, and before he knew it, he was asleep like the rest of the Spartans in Blood Gulch. All but one, anyway.


	3. The Battle For Everlast

**Chapter 3**

**The Battle for Everlast**

It was a calm, quiet morning that fell upon the Blood Gulch canyon that day. The sound of birds and far away Falcons filled the air, but not commotion in the canyon itself was seen. The gently splash of the waves against the sand behind the Reds Base, and across to the Blues, a Spartan in cobalt armour sat on the roof; He appeared to be asleep. In between the two bases stood another Spartan – it wore gold armour, and didn't really appear to be doing anything. It was just stood there, leaning against a rock with its head rolled back, looking at the sky, arms folded. He wasn't even fazed when someone shouted his name.

At the Blue base, Agent Tennessee sauntered onto the roof, her Sniper and Shotgun on her back. She looked across at the yellow Spartan, then her gaze fell onto the cobalt one asleep on the roof, his legs hanging over the side, and his head against a pillar. Tennessee edged towards him, and sat beside him. She didn't awaken him: He looked serene for once. Caboose had a tight grip on his helmet that was in his lap, and Tennessee thought it was somewhat sweet. She returned her gaze back to the yellow Spartan, that had stood upright and was staring in her direction. The dark-armoured Freelancer raised a hand and gestured a "hello" at the clueless Spartan, who hesitantly raised his hand also, before turning and jogging to Red Base. She was sort of glad she had met Sarge the night before, because at least they wouldn't have had a threat now – not that either of the teams were particular threats. Something prodded her shoulder, and she turned to face the baby Elite behind her, who slumped down next to her and nuzzled at her arm. She was kind of surprised at how well she fitted in, and how quickly she did so. The Elites father in turquoise armour leant against a pillar and gazed down at the two sat together, as Tennessee reached and scratched the Elites chin.

"He likes you a lot." He murmured, and she looked up at him curiously. "I can tell. Well. I think we can _all_ tell, but he kept trying to see you yesterday." The Spartan took off his helmet and smiled, ragged black hair falling down in front of a pale face. "Wouldn't stop trying to get out until he was fed and in bed." The Freelancer chuckled, and the Elite wrapped its little arms around her armoured arm.

"He's very cute." She murmured. "I've had some rather horrific experiences with Elites … But this guy is too adorable." The Elite purred, and nuzzled her arm again, and Tucker grinned softly.

"Dunno where he gets it from." He sighed, and sat down facing Tennessee, his arms resting on his knees and his helmet beside him. "So, how did you get here?" He asked curiously. Tennessee suddenly decided she liked Tucker. He seemed like a bit of a flirt, and a bad one at that, but he was sweet, kind and caring, and even though his son wasn't one of their species, he still loved him to pieces.

"Well, I swapped with Texas, as you know." She smiled beneath her visor, and met his eye contact. "But if you mean before I was here in general, I got a lift with a friend." Tucker nodded, obviously intrigued.

"Have you met any really cool Spartans?" He seemed truly interested in her past. "Like, really, really cool?" Tennessee grinned and nodded.

"Hell yeah," She scratched the top of the baby Elites head. "My trainer was the best of the best. I became good friends with him once I qualified as a Commander, and he taught me new techniques every day. He was the one that dropped me here." Tucker seemed even more interested now.

"Do you mean the _best_ of the best?" He asked quickly. "As in …?" Tennessee laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, it was Chief alright." Tucker's jaw dropped.

"The Master Chief taught you in your training?" He exclaimed. "But I thought he was retired from fighting!" Tennessee nodded at the turquoise Spartan.

"You're absolutely correct." She murmured. "However, I was taught seven years ago, and I originally had someone named Texas." She caught he confused gaze. "The original Freelancer Texas. He was one of the strongest Spartans I've ever known." She turned her gaze to Caboose who had his eyes open, listening contently and silently, watching the limited movement at Red Base. She looked back to Tucker and continued, "He died about two years after I graduated to Major. Mercenaries invaded our ship silently, and we were forced to battle. During this battle, I befriended Allison, or the Texas you know now. I had trained with her, but we didn't get along at all – We were total rivals. We hated each other because we strived to be the best, but we were equally powerful. During the battle for Everlast, the ship we were trained on, he went down. Alison and I rushed to aid him, and we instantly put our differences behind us …"

_-Five years ago-_

Alarm bells rang through the young Spartans' ears after they were hurried to suit up and grab their weapons. Anxiety and fear ran through them all, but in Avery Williamson, adrenaline overruled those particular emotions. She glanced around, trying to find Thomas and Dan, but to no avail. She grit her teeth and ran towards Agent Texas, who clenched an assault rifle in his hands, a shotgun on his back. He turned his gaze to her as she approached, and the young Spartan raised her hand into a salute.

"Sir!" She exclaimed, and the Freelancer nodded as the Spartans hand fell to her side again.

"Fight well, Williamson." He murmured. "Show them no mercy, show them what you are, and what you will be. I might not return for this, but try not to grieve for me. If the worst happens, the most you can do is avenge me." The young Spartan nodded, and turned, but Allison was stood behind her, and Avery quickly shoved her helmet on and walked away. She didn't find the battle at all, the battle found her; she managed to quickly roll aside as a grenade was thrown, and debris fell against her helmet. She held her DMR against her visor, and shot each damned Mercenary in the head as they tried to approach her. Her teeth grit harshly, and then Texas appeared beside her, throwing pulse grenades at the Mercs.

"Williamson!" He exclaimed. "Get behind me!" Avery obeyed the Freelancers command, and knelt behind him, taking out some Mercs that tried to assassinate her tutor.

Within minutes, almost the whole ship was filled with war and blood thirst. Some Spartans didn't make it – Avery had turned to watch her closest friend, Thomas, get stabbed in the chest right before her, and she raised her DMR, making a clean shot into the Mercs skull, shouting curses as she did so. She turned back again, and Texas was on one knee facing away from her - It looked like he was hurt.

"Sir?" No response. Did he not hear her? "Sir? Are you alright?" The Freelancer turned his head, and raised a weak hand.

It was covered with his own blood.

Avery's stomach was filled with a fire of rage, and her heart felt like it had shattered.

"No …" She whispered, and knelt beside him as he sat down weakly. "This can't be happening …" The Freelancer struggled, but took off his helmet, his brunette hair flopping over his face.

"Williamson-" He started, but Avery interrupted.

"No!" She cried. "Don't you dare tell me it'll be okay!" The Freelancer was amused with her reaction, and hadn't felt more proud of a Spartan in his life. "Don't even think about lying to me! I know what I need to do, but please …" She begged, trying to control her emotions, but the Freelancer heard the waver in her voice. "Don't tell me it'll be okay. It won't be." The Spartan stood straight, removing her helmet, and placing it on her leaders lap and saluted to him. Alison approached and looked down at her trainer, shock overwriting her system. Avery pulled out her shotgun, and looked at Allison, who looked at her back, meeting her eyes contact softly.

"Help me ... Please …" Avery whispered, and Alison nodded, grabbing her DMR. The two turned and walked into the battle as the fallen Freelancer looked down at the helmet his student had left in his lap. Her tuned into the intercom quickly, and contacted the director.

"Director," He murmured weakly. "I'm not in a good position right now, but I'm not going to make it back. I have a request for you. Please, reserve the name Texas for your daughter, Allison, and the name Tennessee for Avery Williamson." A confirmation came as a response. "Thank you, sir. They are … good soldiers … and they will … not … disa…ppoint…" The Freelancer fell unconscious, aware of the two young soldiers fighting for his life.

Allison and Avery fought well, but they eventually got separated. Avery heard through the fabrication of the intercom that help was coming for them, but she didn't expect it as it was. There we seven Mercenaries after her now, and she ran until she was cornered. Avery felt as though she had tried her best, and she raised her shotgun and pulled the trigger …but there was nothing but a click. She tried her DMR … It was the same. The Mercs laughed as she threw the guns aside and pulled out her dagger, then a green blur bolted past her, and the seven Mercs suddenly all felt like dominoes, and flew against the room. In front of her, a huge Spartan stood up slowly, olive in colour of armour, and it must have been almost as tall as an Elite. It turned, and looked at her carefully, then it turned its whole body around and approached her, before kneeling down to her height.

"Are you alright?" He asked, and Avery's heart skipped a beat. She knew who this was. She nodded formally and saluted.

"Never better, sir." She lowered her hand, and her shoulders slumped. "Thanks for saving my butt." She added casually, and the Spartan chuckled once. He put a hand on her shoulder and guided her across the ship carefully. Allison was knelt down to Texas' lifeless body, and she hand a hand on her chest sadly.

"Allison will have a new tutor." The olive Spartan said softly, and Allison looked up at him, and suddenly looked shocked. The Spartan looked down at Avery. "So, what do you plan to do?" He asked her, and Avery sighed, shaking her head.

"I don't think there is much else I can do." She admitted, but the Spartan shook his head.

"That's not true." He pointed out. "You want to be a Freelancer, and you will be. You just need a few more years of training." Avery looked up at the Spartan, and looked disheartened.

"By who?" She asked. "My tutor is dead." The olive Spartan's gaze fell onto Texas' body.

"I could." He murmured, and Avery stiffened.

"What?" She asked, her heart beating quickly. "Don't you have better things to do in your time?" The olive Spartan broke into laughter now.

"Don't be ridiculous." He said, and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm not allowed to properly get involved any more. Today was a one off. No one would be bothered if I trained a Spartan." Avery shuddered.

"It's weird though." She murmured. "Being trained by … Well …" She gestured to him. "The Master Chief." Master Chief smiled behind his visor.

"But imagine what you can tell people in the future …"

_-Present day-_

"Wow." Tucker and Church said simultaneously.

"So you really met him?" Church questioned. He had stumbled across their conversation about halfway through. Tennessee nodded to him, and looked down at Junior who was asleep in her lap. "The Master Chief." Tennessee smiled.

"Yes, but, obviously, I'm nowhere near as strong as him." She grinned. "He's just good to challenge sometimes."

"You sound like best buddies." Caboose murmured softly, still gazing at the scenery. Tennessee punched his shoulder lightly, and he turned to look at her, a little shocked.

"Yeah." She teased. "We're BFF's." Caboose frowned beneath a blush and turned away, Tennessee giggling at him. Church watched the two curiously, and a thought hit him, and it lingered – And nothing but Texas lingers in Church's mind.

**A/N****: Wow, I am spoiling you guys today. ;D Here's to 2 chapters in one day. Please don't hate against the Tennessee being trained by Chief a few years back – I needed a backstory and it sounded about right. It won't affect the story much, she won't be a godmod, and there ****_will_**** be things she can't do alone! Hence why she's buddies with Texas. Also, what else is Chief supposed to do in his spare time? :P I decided to upload a few more chapters, because I've been getting a few follows and favourites, so I'm spoiling you guys. As long as you love it, I'll keep writing it. :3**


	4. Friendship

**Chapter 4**

**Friendship**

The days went by slowly, and Caboose grew rather weary of the Freelancer, but it wasn't the kind of weary that he was afraid of her. Instead, the cobalt soldier would stand in the hallway and if the Freelancer should pass, he would nod at her. The dark armoured female would wave lightly back with a soft "Hello". This happened regularly, and Caboose began to pick up on the patterns she would pass by with. It was usually late at night, or early in the morning. Caboose was well aware that people liked their privacy, but his head began to arise suspicions, such as the Freelancer giving the Reds information, even though there was none to give. One night, Caboose waited for Tennessee to pass again, before waiting thirty seconds and following. He didn't follow her closely, but he kept her in his sight, leaving his weapons at the base, so that he didn't seem like a threat to her if she caught him. He was about twelve paces behind her and she headed down one of the passages near the base. Caboose remembered this one well, because he used to come down here a lot to look at the small lake in it. As the Freelancer went round the right hand passage, Caboose laid on his front and looked over the edge of the higher part in the passage. He could only see the shadows, but he knew who the other was, and his heart sank a little, and he suddenly felt rather sick.

"I thought you'd be here." The Freelancer murmured, and the other shadow looked up from its position on the rock, before standing up and walking towards her. "What did you want to tell me?" The other soldier stood in front of her, their chests almost touching. He then very straightforwardly murmured;

"I realised the other day that I began ta' like you a little too much." Sarge said, and Caboose noticed neither of them had their weapons. Even so, the sick feeling remained. "So I was wonderin' if maybe you'd come ta' Red Base and spend time with us." He chuckled nervously. "Cause to be frank, Reds are the best! Ev'ryone knows that." Tennessee seemed to stiffen but she didn't step away, despite how close the red soldier was too her. Caboose held his breath; what if she left them? They'd be helpless! And he wouldn't have anyone to talk to …

"I'm sorry, Sarge." Tennessee murmured, and put a gloved hand on the Red Soldiers shoulder. "But I could never betray my team like that. They need me, especially Caboose. You should know that betrayal is the worst crime a Soldier could possibly commit." Sarge nodded to the Freelancer, although it was obvious to Caboose that he was disappointed.

"You're a perfect soldier." Sarge commented. "Your only imperfection is that you're a blue." The Freelancer chuckled, and Caboose bit his lip.

"I wouldn't call that an imperfection." She smiled beneath her visor. "I'd call it a difference." Caboose stood up silently, and stepped away a little. He was convinced she would have said that she wasn't a Blue, and that she was a Freelancer; neither on Red nor Blue, but she hadn't. He sat in the top corner of the cave, and hugged his knees to his chest. For some reason, what Tennessee had said warmed him, and he felt really happy, so he couldn't understand why he was crying. He pried his helmet from his head and zoned out for a while, and didn't listen to the rest of their conversation.

"Caboose?" The cobalt soldier looked up and blinked at the Freelancer, who had the light on her helmet on. "Did you follow me here?" He stayed quiet, and just stared at her; he was confused, and his stomach felt weird … almost tingly. The Freelancer crouched down to meet his eye contact and gazed at his curiously.

"You've been crying." She stated, and Caboose frowned wiping at his face with gloved hands.

"No I haven't." He grunted, and the Freelancer smiled, kneeling down in front of him and pulling his hand away from his face.

"You know," She said quietly, "You shouldn't need to feel afraid to show your emotions around anyone; especially me." Caboose was silent, and avoided her eye contact briefly. "Caboose?" He met her gaze again and he felt a little confused. It was like staring at a brick wall, because he couldn't see her eyes; he was just staring at her visor. As if she could read his mind, she reached up, and the block colour of her silver visor faded, and due to the light on her helmet, he could just make out soft bluey-brown eyes and light-brunette hair covering part of her face if it hadn't of been pulled back by the helmet.

"You know you can trust me, don't you?" Tennessee asked, and Caboose nodded once, some of his blonde hair bobbing in front of his face. She smiled at him again and stood up, holding a hand out towards him. "Let's go back to the base." She murmured. "You know I'll never leave you guys, Caboose." Caboose stared at her hand, then took it lightly in his, letting the Freelancer help him stand up.

"I am glad to hear that." He said softly, and Tennessee put an arm around his shoulders as they sauntered towards the base. "Tennessee?" He looked at his feet as they walked, and he noticed Tennessee's other hand held his helmet.

"Yeah?" She replied, looking at the dark sky calmly. Caboose felt his stomach churn, and the sick feeling came back, however, it wasn't a bad sick feeling. He found it weird.

"Are … are we friends?" He said shyly, and his voice trailed off, but Tennessee heard him perfectly, then she smiled, and nudged him reassuringly.

"Of course we are, Caboose." She squeezed his shoulder and he put an unsure hand on her back. "Did you think I didn't like you or something?" Caboose shrugged, and looked up at the base as they neared it.

"Well," He decided to admit the bitter truth. "I do not really get along with anyone here; especially with the girls. Girls never like me." Tennessee scoffed, and they began to walk down to the corridor in the base.

"I like you." She murmured. "And I'm a girl." Caboose smiled, and bowed his head.

"That makes me happy." He started to grin, and they stopped outside of his room. "Um. Thanks for being so nice to me, Tennessee." He hesitated, then leant forward and hugged the Freelancer timidly yet briefly, and she hugged him back. "I really app… um … appreci…ate having someone to talk to." Tennessee smiled, and looked into the soldiers' eyes as he pulled away and stood awkwardly in front of her.

"It's alright, Caboose." Her smile was soft and warming, and for some reason, now he could see it, Caboose found it a little attracting, which bewildered him. "If you're happy, I'm happy. You're my closest friend here, you know." Caboose blushed, and looked away. "Well, you should go to bed." Tennessee added hastily. "It's very late. I'll probably see you sometime, someplace tomorrow." She patted the cobalt soldiers' shoulder and gave him his helmet back. "Good night." Caboose nodded, and with that, Tennessee's bedroom door clicked behind her. Caboose padded into his room, then leant against the door as he closed it, before bumping his head on it and sighing. He felt weird, but it wasn't a horrible feeling. His stomach felt fluttery, and he wanted to talk to Tennessee about it. Well, in all honesty, he just wanted to see her. Hugging her was the best thing that had happened to him the whole time he had been in Blood Gulch.

What the hell was happening to him?

The following day was crisp and dewy in the morning, as the seasons moved on to winter. Droplets of water rested on flimsy blades of grass, a breeze gently knocking the droplets off of the grass and into the soil, mingling with the earth. The sky was clear of clouds, and the oceans waves rippled against the sand in unison.

On top of Red Base stood Sarge, who was gazing across the currently desolate land in front of him. He reached up and nudged the top of his helmet, edging it back a little, and then pondered about how Tennessee was doing. He had heard a new Recruit was joining the Red Team, but he was fully aware that they would be nowhere near as strong as Tennessee was. All of a sudden, questions filled his mind; He wondered how she got there in the first place, and how she became a Freelancer. He grunted absent-mindedly – No doubt the blues knew. He could see from there as movement began to arise on the Blues Base that they accepted her as one of them, and what made him feel even bitterer was that he could clearly see that Tennessee had grown close to Caboose. He had spotted the two walking together at night after he had talked to Tennessee, and it made him feel sour. He knew very well why, he just wouldn't admit it.

"Sarge?" The Red Base's leader turned to look up at Simmons, who was standing empty handed behind him. Simmons was equipped with maroon armour, a DMR on his back and a pistol on his upper right hand thigh. He didn't have his helmet on, and his face was framed with dark brunette hair that was cut evenly at each side, piercing blue eyes shone from beneath his bangs. Grif, who was stood behind him, had dirty blonde hair and green eyes. His armour was a golden colour, and he possessed an Assault Rifle and a Pistol. "Should Grif and I go and patrol the borders?" Sarge felt blank, and then raised a hand in dismissal.

"You do what ya' like, Simmons." He grunted, and turned away. "I'll find somethin' for ya' later." Simmons turned and looked at Grif, who shrugged, holding his hands up at shoulder-height. He took a final glance at Sarge before turning and lightly pushing Grif away – He could feel that Sarge needed some space, and as much as the maroon soldier wanted to deny it, he wanted some space with just him and Grif, too. Grif was unsure about his place with Simmons – he knew there something there, but he didn't want to point it out; he really, _really_, didn't want to make the first move, just in case he cocked it up, which he silently admitted that he would, so he would wait. Grif was definitely not the patient type, but he was willing to wait for Simmons. If Simmons gave no sign, he would before forced to move on, even if it hurt.

The two left Sarge alone, and the crimson soldier sighed, sitting down and propping his shotgun up next to him. Eventually, his head fell into his hands, and he pulled off his helmet, exposing the dark grey buzz cut underneath, his grey eyes showing no sign of emotion. He spaced out, wondering what it would be like if Tennessee _had_ joined the Red Team, wondered if she would like him, as he liked her. He shook his head and stifled a single chuckle. Of course not; It would still end up the same. The fact was, was that it won't happen, and Sarge would have to sit in Red Base with a bunch of guys that were inevitably homosexual. It struck him as odd, but he found that he wasn't really bothered with Grif and Simmons being together, and despite his so called "hate" for Grif, he hoped that Grif would learn something from Simmons, and Simmons would learn something from Grif. It would be killing two birds with one stone.

"Um. Excuse me?" He was knocked out of his little fantasy, and looked down at the Spartan in crimson armour stood on the soft green grass below him. They weren't very tall, and their voice was light and fluttery. "Is this Red Base?" Sarge's mouth was ajar, and when he realised so, he quickly closed it, and stood up, picking up his shot gun and shoving his helmet back onto his head.

"That it is." He straightened his back, and lowered his head. "You tha' new private?" The Spartan below him nodded once, and raised a hand to its helmet.

"Just arrived, sir." _They're more of a kiss-ass than Simmons._ Sarge thought privately. _I like it. _"Private Mina Maricalo, Spartan D-117." The Privates hand fell to their side, and they stood with their shotgun in their hands – Another quality Sarge admired. "Not to be mistaken for J-117, sir. Just caught up in the early Alphabet." Sarge raised an eyebrow from under his visor.

"Mina, eh?" He caught on as to why their voice was so light. "You're the first female recruit we've been handed. Don't worry, though. The other Privates are all fancying each other." He chuckled to himself, and the female Spartan seemed a little uncomfortable. Sarge then gestured for her to come onto the roof, backing up a little. When she stood by him, he held a hand out.

"Name's Sarge." He introduced himself, and Mina took his hand. "I'm the leader of Red Base. Don't overwork yourself though. You seem like a good asset, so I'll go easy on ya." Mina looked over and Blue base – all seemed to be tranquil over there. "Oh, that's Donut." She turned and her eyes fell upon a Spartan in pink armour, and she suddenly felt a little confused. "Yes, he's male."

"But he's wearing pink …" She murmured, and Donut seemed to go ajar.

"It's lightish red!" He protested, and then turned to look at Mina. "Oh. Hi there, newbie." Mina scowled, and Sarge grunted.

"You'll get used to 'im." He grumbled, and looked across to find Simmons and Grif – Sure enough, they were stood on a highest part of the canyon, overlooking the bases. "Those two up there are Grif and Simmons: Simmons being the Maroon one; Grif being the Yellow one." He chuckled, and Donut bit his lip.

"He's gonna hate you for that, Sarge." He murmured, and Sarge shrugged.

"It'll be my amusement for the day." Sarge looked down at Mina, and she was staring intently at Donut. _Would it really be, though? _He wondered. _Having a female on the team will definitely be interesting._

**AN:**** Due to Tenn letting Sarge down, I'm shoving in another OC because I feel bad. I'm sure there'll be tension between Tennessee and Mina, Ahahaha. xD. Also, if you couldn't tell … LET THERE BE GRIMMONS. I support the two's every-growing relationship, and it also gives Donut some humour to shove in, too. If you have anything you'd like to see develop in the story, by god let me know. :'3 Viewer input will be really, ****_really_**** helpful. I want to know what you guys want to see in this! Hope you enjoyed to latest instalment!**


	5. I Still Hate You

**Chapter 5**

**I Still Hate You**

That day was droning, and continued for what felt like an eternity. At night, and it was more likely the following morning in the early hours, Tennessee sat on her bed in the dark. Beside her, sat Caboose – she had offered for them to go and spend some time alone, mainly because she wanted to get to know him a little more; that, and the little cobalt soldier couldn't sleep. She had learnt his full name and his age, and why he was at Blood Gulch … He had told her that he was supposed to be in France, but it didn't turn out that way for him. They'd turned it into a game, where they'd take it in turns to tell each other something interesting about themselves. Caboose found the tingling in his stomach had started again, but he didn't mention it again from fear of her getting curious and asking him things he didn't want to be asked. What he didn't know, however, was how Tennessee viewed the cobalt Soldier now, and how close she felt to him. She wondered what would happen if they all had to leave, and she couldn't resist asking, now.

"Caboose?"

"Yes?"

"Where do you see yourself after this war?" Silence filled the dark room, and Tennessee could hear Caboose shuffle next to her, and the mattress dipped a little. They had stayed together that night, as Caboose had had a bad dream; he had waltzed into Tennessee's room a little panicked – the Freelancer had already been awake, so she had comforted him. She wasn't tired, as she had already slept for her 5 hours, and thus was already awake, so she wasn't really bothered.

"I do not know." Caboose replied shyly. "Maybe somewhere with a friend. I would like that." Tennessee smiled tenderly and nodded. Caboose then asked her something that surprised her greatly;

"Tennessee?" He began. "Have you ever, uh, had someone special? … you know … like a, uh, boyfriend?" Tennessee's eyebrows raised, and she looked a little bewildered.

"Thinking about it," She murmured. "I haven't, no. I guess I either didn't have the time, or I just didn't feel that way about someone. Perhaps both." Caboose raised his head slightly.

"I have never had anyone like that." He laughed. "Most people do not like me. Especially girls." Tennessee thought about the conversation they had had in the cave, and she put a tender arm around him. Caboose relaxed into her embrace now, and she heard him sigh softly, a soft thump on her shoulder as his head rested there. Tennessee didn't understand why Blue Team, including Texas, and Red Team, excluding Donut, didn't like Caboose; He was sweet, kind and caring, and wouldn't hurt a fly unless provoked. She nonchalantly rubbed his arm gently, and Caboose edged a little closer, putting an arm behind him to keep his balance. He raised his head when Tennessee spoke almost inaudibly.

"I like you." She murmured lightly. "I'll always like you, Caboose." Caboose looked up at her, a faint light shining in through a small crack in the metallic wall which made her bluey eyes stand out, and Caboose bit his lip – He didn't know how to respond to that at all, so instead of replying, Caboose turned to the Freelancer and threw his arms around her, squeezing her tightly. Tennessee blinked at the soldiers' sudden embrace, but returned the gesture a little more softly. Tennessee wondered if life in Blood Gulch would always be this easy – But part of her warned her of a dangerous forthcoming.

Sarge wandered around Red Base casually, wondering if anything interesting would ever happen to them or the Blues. He'd gotten so darned bored that he thought he might as well think of a way to get something started between the Reds and Blues, but his head just wasn't in the right place. He walked down the narrow corridor towards the living room, before stopping abruptly, and listening carefully. He could hear someone in the front room; wait no, it was _two_ people. Sarge grit his teeth: If it was Grif and Simmons raiding the cupboards again, he would probably kill himself. He glanced around the corner, and sure enough, He saw Grif sitting with, whom he supposed, Simmons. Grif looked up, saw Sarge, and patted Simmons' arm before giving a friendly wave to the Red Base's leader.

"What in Sam Hell are you doin' in here?" He asked, folding his arms harshly. Grif looked a little taken aback, and glanced at Simmons whose face was towards the floor. Grifs' helmet had been removed, and it was beside Simmons on the couch. He didn't look happy at all, now, and he appeared to keep one hand on Simmons' arm, the other was now curled up into a ball.

"Does it really matter?" Grif hissed, and Sarge's eyebrows rose underneath his helmet. "Does helping a friend go against the rules?" Sarge blinked, and started to walk forwards, noticing that it wasn't Simmons at all – It was Mina.

"No, I guess not." Sarge grumbled, looking down at Grif, then at Mina, then back to Grif. "What's happened?" He asked, his voice softening a little. Grif rolled his eyes under his visor, and Mina reached over and squeezed Grifs hand, a positive gesture that Grif seemed to understand.

"Simmons hasn't been getting along with Mina very well." Grif now looked down at Mina sadly, and Sarge's back went rigid all of a sudden. "He said some pretty mean things to her. I was there, trust me. I know I'm a lazy shit and all, but I jumped in to defend Mina." Mina glanced up at Sarge, then looked at Grif. "Besides, it's not like she's been here very long. It's not fair." He added hastily, and sighed, closing his eyes. Sarge was silent for a moment, and looked at the metallic walls before looking at Grif uneasily.

"I didn't know you were the type to care, Grif." He said softly – Softly for him, anyway. "You have my permission to do what you need to for Mina in the next few days – You appear close to her and I think you'll help her settle in more." He looked down at Mina carefully. "If Simmons gives you any more grief let me know. I'll deal with it personally." Mina nodded, and looked up at Grif who was looking up at Sarge now.

"Thanks Sarge." He smiled, and flicked his light brunette hair out of his face. "It means a lot, it really does."

"Yeah, well," Sarge scoffed. "Don't get soft on me, Grif, this is for Mina, and I will not have any harassment between my privates." Grif tapped his fingers on his knee lightly, waiting for another part to be added. "Apart from you, Grif, of course."

"I was waiting for that." He sighed. Sarge put a hand on Grifs shoulder suddenly, and it made Grif jump – he squeezed it once, and Grif knew what he meant, nodding once. As Sarge walked away, he hoped that Simmons would sort out his problem. He could see Grif liked Mina, but not in a sexual kind of way – Sarge understood that Grif liked Mina as a sister, but according to Simmons, it didn't look like that. Simmons must have thought that his chances with Grif had been blown by Mina, but Sarge knew better than that; He was all too familiar with people falling in love – For him it seemed impossible. He wasn't too bothered though, as he didn't feel as though it were necessary, which to be honest, it wasn't.

As the Red Spartan walked along the darkened hallway again, he stumbled over something soft, and turned abruptly as he heard it shuffle and go upright. He reached up and turned on his light on his helmet, and frowned at the thin figure that stood in front of him. He was quite tall, in a maroon shirt and black jogging bottoms, his dog tag around his neck and a frightened look on his face.

"Simmons?" Sarge grunted. "What are ya' doin' trippin' me up like that?" Simmons shuffled nervously, and looked around for a way out.

"I- I'm sorry, sir." He grimaced. "I just kind of …" He didn't know how to finish the sentence off, but Sarge finished it for him.

"Broke down?" He murmured, and Simmons looked at the floor and nodded. "Son, if this is about Grif and Mina, you might as well forget it." Simmons looked up at Sarge sadly.

"How do you know about that?" He asked shakily, and Sarge sighed.

"Mainly because Grif and Mina are in the living room talking," He grumbled. "And you're sat on the floor tripping people up." Simmons glanced down the corridor towards the living room and bit his lip.

"I said some pretty horrid things." Simmons murmured, and Sarge rolled his eyes.

"Maybe you should go and apologise then." Sarge said, pushing Simmons in the direction of the living room before turning and retreating towards his room, a confused Simmons staring at his back. Sarge sighed, and hung his head lightly. Something strange had befallen him, but he wasn't sure what it was. He felt sort of fluttery and happy, something he rarely felt, so he embraced the feeling while it was there. He nudged open the door to his room, and closed it behind him and taking his helmet off, before sitting on his bed heavily, lying on his back and putting his hands behind his head, looking up at the ceiling. He wondered if Simmons had apologised to Mina, and if he had told Grif anything interesting.

Simmons watched Sarge leave, and he turned to look at the hallway again, looking down towards the living room. Soft chuckles emanated from the dim room, and he slowly stepped forwards, trying to stay silent as he neared the room. He could now hear Grif and Mina talking quietly, and he looked around the doorway carefully, and almost felt sick as he looked upon Grif and Mina sat next to each other, Grifs arm around Mina and Mina's head was on his shoulder. He hesitated, before stepping into the dim light, and clearing his throat. As he did that, the two looked up at him, and Mina's face fell, whereas Grif looked a little pissed off.

"Um. Hi." Simmons said awkwardly, avoiding their gazes. "I … I just wanted to say that I'm sorry … Mina … For saying those really horrible things. I just thought that, well, you'd become so close to Grif that I'd be by myself and I don't want to lose him because he's the closest thing I have to family at this moment in time." Grifs expression softened, and Mina sat upright. She nudged Grif, and a blush appeared on the golden Spartans face, as well as a frown. "I know I hurt you, and I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't accept my apology, and you can be as close to Grif as you like. I know that I don't have …" Simmons trailed off, and he shook his head. "Never mind. I'm sorry, Mina. I really am." With that, he turned and left the room; Grif looked upset, Mina had observed, and she nudged him.

"Go tell him!" She urged him. "Go and do it now! It's perfect timing." Grif blinked at his new friend, and he blushed again.

"I…Can't." He replied sadly. "It's too much for me." Mina's brunette hair fell in front of her face, and she brushed it back, her emerald eyes filled with understanding and determination.

"Yes, you can." She replied, and took his hand softly in hers. "You love him. You can't deny that now. We can all tell, you know. Sarge knows, Donut knows. Just tell him, Dexter, he won't turn you down, I promise." Grif looked at the doorway, then at Mina, and he hugged her.

"I hope you're right." He stood up, and jogged out of the doorway, adrenaline running through his veins. He had to do this now. If he didn't, he could be too late.

"Simmons!" He called, and the maroon Spartan turned around, staring at the golden Spartan behind him.

"Grif?" Grif stopped in front of Simmons, and put his hands of his knees, hunching over himself and panting heavily. He put one hand up and a single finger was raised. "You're so unfit, Grif." Simmons observed, and he leant over to look at Grif, whose azure eyes met his own, a challenging look in his eyes, but there was a smirk on his lips.

"I need to … tell you … something …" Grif panted, and then stood up straight, catching his breath. "It's kinda important, and I'd rather not fuck it up." Simmons raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?" Grif held his breath and then sighed.

"You could at least be a little bit more enthusiastic, you know." He shook his head, then took a step forwards to Simmons, and looked up at him, squinting his eyes at him. Simmons, raised his eyebrows again, and he felt his face getting a little hot. Damn it. Grif closed his eyes briefly, and the words began to strong together in his head. "Simmons, I-" Whoa, whoa. Wait, _what?_ Grif opened his eyes, and looked at Simmons, who had leant towards him in the moment his eyes were closed and had kissed him, right. On. The lips. Grif was confused – he had confessed, yes, but Simmons was … had it turned into Simmons confessing too? Grif shrugged the thought away, as Simmons stood upright, and in the lightening dawn, Grif could see the blush on his companions face.

"Did it have anything to do with that?" Simmons said quickly. "Because if it didn't I think I might just go and drink a load of beer to forget about this." Grif put his index finger on Simmons' lips and he smiled.

"No beer for you, then." He murmured, and Simmons' eyes widened a little.

"Woah, really?" Simmons began to smile like a complete idiot. "So I'm not insane for doing that?" Grif removed his finger from Simmons' lips and shook his head.

"Nope." Grif grinned, and looked towards the outside of the base, the light sort of hurting his eyes. "But I still hate you." Simmons suddenly looked hurt.

"Why?" He questioned, and Grif shook his head and smiled to himself.

"Oh, Simmons." He sighed, looking up at him. "Take a fucking joke once in a while." With that, Grif grabbed Simmons' collar and pulled him into him, pressing his lips to Simmons' with a little more force than Simmons had done before. They were shrouded in the moment, and felt eternal bliss between them. From a distance, stood Mina; she had a smile on her lips, and she walked up towards the top of Red Base, looking up at the Canyon's sides and breathing in deeply. She must have stood there for quite a while, because the sun had risen fully now, and she could finally see some other Spartans moving around at Blue Base.

"Nice day, hunh?" She turned and looked at Sarge. She nodded at the leader and turned to look at blue base again. Sarge stood beside her, and they stood in silence, neither of them saying anything to each other. Sarge's mind whirred, and he grimaced behind his visor. He didn't like the silence, but then again, he didn't like the fact Mina wouldn't speak to him. Then he suddenly wondered; What if Mina actually hated him? His stomach lurched, but he stayed put. He would just have to wait and find out for now.

**A/N:**** And here is Chapter 5! I finally got Grif and Simmons together! Woohooo! Don't hate against them. Their relationship is inevitable! Inevitable I tell you! I'm still thinking about how to approach Sarge and Mina's relationship, however. It should be interesting. :3 I know ****_exactly_**** how Caboose and Tennessee's will come around. **

**If you're more of a fan of Tenn and Caboose, then don't fret, because this chapter brought the two a little closer together, but was Aimed around Red Base, as most of the story's been with the Blues. :3 Hopefully Tucker will have a more active role, too.**

**Hope you enjoyed this new chapter!**


	6. Did You Ever?

**Chapter 6**

**Did you ever?**

The winter season lingered in Blood Gulch that year – the festivities came and went, but the snow laid unthawed, and the sky heavy with clouds. The only person not bothered by the weather was Donut; even Caboose was starting to get irritated with the cold now. The arctic conditions viciously annoyed some Spartans, however, such as Sarge and Church. The two had been excessively narky during the white-season, but the most apparent of annoyances was Tennessee. Tennessee had never been a fan of the cold conditions of winter, but Leonard Church had noticed her tongue was never sharp around Caboose – And that, as a result, annoyed him. Not only was it unfair, but it was Caboose. _Caboose._ The icy-coloured Spartan would observe the two with almost a bitter hatred.

Caboose ran outside one morning to try and find something to do – The cobalt Spartan had been inside for too long, so he tried to find something entertaining. Tennessee watched the private from upon the roof – her arms were folded in her lap, and her helmet was next to her as she sat with her legs dangling off of the roof. Tucker came to join her after a few minutes, and he seated himself next to her, breathing shakily in the cold, steam emanating from his mouth as he rubbed his arms.

"Fucking hell." He breathed. "It's fucking freezing out here." Tennessee nodded, her eyes almost as cold as the weather itself. She wasn't particularly pissed off today – It was slightly warmer than the day before, but it was still below 0 degrees. Tucker reached down and picked off a bit of ice from the roof of the base and flicked it away from them, both of their eyes watching it as his sank into the white powder below them. Tennessee looked up at Caboose again, who appeared to be talking to Donut in the middle of the Canyon – she had noticed that the snow had brought the two closer together, but Caboose denied their friendship. It still kind of ticked her off that Church was such an asshole to Caboose – he always said the wrong things, and didn't see what Caboose at least _tried_ to do for him. Still, she watched the cobalt soldier running up to them intently. She always felt much calmer around him, and Tucker noticed it too. The cold, hard look in her gaze seemed to melt away when the cobalt Spartan ran up to them smiling; he said something that was inaudible, then ran into the base. Tucker looked at Tennessee and smirked a little to himself, before sharing his thoughts.

"You like him, don't you?" He questioned, and Tennessee frowned before looking at the aqua soldier questioningly.

"What do you mean by that?" She murmured, and Tucker laughed.

"You know what I mean." He said softly back. "Girl, you should know by now I can tell when someone fancies the hell outta another, so there's no point denying it to me." Tennessee could have glared the shit out of him, but only a small one managed to escape her calm gaze.

"I don't think I understand you." She murmured, standing up and putting her helmet on. "Maybe I need to get my hearing checked." Tucker made a loud "Hah!" noise, and slapped his knee, jumping up and following her.

"I fucking knew it!" He cheered as she walked away from him. "I fucking knew there was something between you." Tennessee turned to Tucker abruptly, and he almost bumped into her.

"You don't know diddily-squat." She purred, and Tucker frowned. "Mention anything to Church, or anyone else, then you might find your head somewhere far away from your body." Tucker watched her as she left, then followed slowly. _I'm still right._ He thought privately.

Caboose ran into Blue Base, and brushed the snow off of his jacket and trousers, before hanging his jacket up and sitting near a radiator. He was shivering again – he hated shivering. It reminded him of the Meta in the snow all those years ago. He shook his head and looked up as Church walked into the living room. The ice coloured Spartan looked at him with an expression that Caboose couldn't identify, then sat quite far away from him. Caboose knew Church didn't like sitting near him, but this was starting to irritate him a little, and Caboose really wasn't the type to get irritated. His mind whirred for a moment – What kind of things could he talk to Church about that wouldn't make him want to walk away? Church was flicking through a magazine, with a mug of coffee in one hand. Every now and then, he'd glance up at Caboose, until eventually he sighed, and sat back in the chair, looking at Caboose with a hard gaze.

"Are you going to just sit there and stare at me," Church murmured, his voice cold. "Or are you going to say something?" Caboose suddenly didn't want to talk to Church, but he felt too obligated to talk to him than ignore him.

"Um," Caboose tried to think of something to say. "When do you think the snow will go away?" He said quickly, and Church somewhat grit his teeth.

"I don't know, Caboose." He said bluntly, then looked at his magazine again. Caboose raised his eyebrows, then asked another question;

"Church," He said softly. "Can we make something nice for later? Like cookies?" Church didn't look up this time.

"Whatever," His voice was becoming a little harsher now. "Get Tucker to help, I don't care." At that moment, Tucker and Tennessee had entered the base, and their footsteps began to echo down the corridor, but Church didn't seem to hear them.

"Church," Caboose stood up now, looking a little hurt. "Why do you never want to do anything with us?" Church lost it then – the icy soldier stood up and marched over to Caboose, and glared right into his face.

"When will you fucking realise I don't care?" He hissed, and Caboose suddenly felt incredibly frightened – why was Church like this? What did he do? "I _never_ cared! But still, you keep fucking around with me, asking me stupid questions and stating irrelevant bullshit that I don't want to fucking hear." By this time, Tucker and Tennessee had reached the outside of the living room, but they had stopped to listen to the commotion. Tennessee had taken off her helmet, which was under her arm, before she had gone with Tucker to the living room who hadn't muttered a word since they were on the roof. They were both on one side of the door each, stood in utter silence, and Tennessee's faith in Church suddenly plummeted at his words.

"Church, I-" Caboose began, but Church shoved him backwards against the radiator, which burnt the younger soldier hand and he yelped, but didn't move form fear of Church hurting him again.

"No, don't even fucking say anything." Church growled, and his fists curled into balls. "I didn't ask for you to be here, and I mean fuck, I don't even _want_ you here. Nobody fucking wants you here! You're annoying, you do everything wrong, you're a fucking coward, and you can't even defend yourself. People like you don't belong here! Go back where you fucking came from and never fuck with us again. You can even go to fucking Red Team, but I bet they won't want you either." Cabooses eyes filled with tears, but he didn't let them spill, instead, he put his best grimace on, a small attempt to fight back against the opposing soldier. Caboose took a small step forwards and shouted weakly at Church with a shaky voice.

"Tennessee cares!" He cried, and Church's brow furrowed even more. "She's always cared! She never turned her back on me, and she's always defended me! I don't need people like you when I have someone like her! She's a better best friend than you ever were! All you are … is … is a jerk!" Church almost punched the soldier, but he still had the smallest of dignity left.

"Tennessee doesn't fucking care." Church spat. "Don't even get me fucking started. She puts up with you because no one else will. We're all sick of you. By the time she realises what a pain in the ass you are, she will have left like the rest of us." Caboose lost it at that point – he'd always believed in Church, but this time he thought he couldn't. The young soldier was still caught up in his beliefs, and part of him led him on to believe Church's words were true. He blinked at the same time as pushing Church backwards with a great force that sent Church into a wooden table that shattered under his weight, and he sprinted out of the room, tears streaming from his face. He ran straight past Tennessee and Tucker, who had both tried to stop him but he was too strong for even them both. Tennessee cast a begging glance to Tucker who nodded and bolted after the cobalt soldier, while Tennessee entered the room in which Church was lifting himself up off of the floor, picking bits of wood from him, but he didn't look up in time for him to be whisked up off of his feet and punched in the stomach.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" The dark Freelancer bitterly screamed at him. All the power within Church suddenly felt as though it had been taken out of him and put into Tennessee as he coiled over himself in pain. He looked up at the Freelancer with almost pleading in his gaze, but the Freelancer was obviously too pissed to notice. "You're telling him all those lies? You might not care, Tucker might not care, but I sure as fuck _do_ care, and Caboose deserves to know no different! Did you ever consider what he's done for you? Did you ever stop to think what you were saying was bad? Did you ever think that maybe Caboose just wanted a friend, someone to cry to when he was upset? I know this has happened before with Carolina and Tex, but that was different. _I'm_ here now, and if you ever, _ever_, hurt Caboose again, physically or mentally, I will fucking pummel you into the ground until there is nothing but a trace left of you. We're all pissed off with this weather, Leonard, but taking it out on Caboose is _not_ an option. I hope you sort your fucking attitude out before we get back, or there'll be hell to pay." With a final dark glare, and a small snarl, the Freelancer bolted out of the door to catch up with the other blue soldiers. Church sat on the floor, the lecture of his hatred being over with, and looked at the splinters of wood around him.

What had he done?

Tennessee didn't know where Caboose and Tucker had gone, so she suddenly broadcasted across the intercom. Her voice was much softer now, and her throat hurt after all the yelling, but there was a huge amount of worry in there as well as pain.

"Tucker? Caboose?" She questioned through the intercom. "Come in." She waited briefly. Nothing. Maybe they hadn't taken their helmets, she thought, but then there was a crackle, and a soft mutter. "Tucker? Caboose? Is that you?"

"T- Tenn …" Was all she heard. That was enough to signal her who was on the other side.

"Caboose, where are you?" Silence. "Caboose?" Another silence, but then there was a sudden small whimper. "Caboose, you don't believe what Church said about me, do you?" Another silence; maybe he was listening to her quietly. "Caboose, everything he said was a lie, I promise."

"The cave." She barely heard it – it was almost inaudible. "The one on that night." She knew which one, so she bounded up to the cave near Blue Base, her heart pounding. Church had never pissed her off so much, so why now?

When she arrived, he wasn't in the top, so she glanced over the edge. The cobalt soldier was curled up in a corner near the frozen-over pond, clutching his helmet as though it were a life source. She walked around the long way, and took off her helmet as she turned the corner – as she did so, the cobalt soldiers' head rose, as well as the aqua ones.

"You're both here?" She looked from Caboose to Tucker and back again. Tucker gave her a solemn nod.

"I don't want to go back yet." He murmured, and then stifled a single chuckle. "Church scares me when he's pissed, and I don't fancy becoming soup today, or to face a liar." Tennessee realised that Tucker was genuinely frightened, and she smiled at him softly.

"Trust me, Church won't be saying or doing anything harsh any time soon." Tucker looked up at Tennessee with interest, and she raised an eyebrow. "I taught him a lesson, let's leave it at that." Tucker's lips hinted at a smiled, but then he nodded over to Cabooses direction, and Tennessee looked at the cobalt soldier. His eyes were glum and misty, and he was picking at some moss on the rock his shoulder was leant against. The Freelancer knelt down in front of him, but he didn't look at her.

"Hey, you." She murmured, and she looked a little hurt. Caboose had obviously taken Churches words seriously. "You shouldn't listen to Bitch-Pants-McCrabby." Caboose merely murmured; "That is what we call Texas." Tennessee's heart sank; so the bastard had torn a rift between herself and Caboose. Tucker noticed too, and he coughed to catch the Freelancers attention, before gesturing for her to sit by him. She did so, feeling as though Caboose would rather be alone at this point in time.

"Caboose took those words Church said literally." Tucker murmured so that Caboose couldn't hear. "He was asking why you would lie to him, then why Church would lie to him. He got confused, so he's just going to turn his back to everyone, I guess." Tennessee sighed, and put her head in her hands. Tucker looked at her sympathetically, but then smirked. "But hey, Caboose finally realised what an ass Church is. He called him a jerk." Tennessee removed her hands from her face, but didn't look up.

"Yeah, but now he thinks we all hate him." She looked across at Caboose, feeling the need to burst into tears – a feeling she hadn't had for years, since the former Texas died. "I don't want him to feel like that, it's not right. It's not fair." Tucker looked at Tennessee and put an arm around her.

"Hey," He murmured. "It'll work out, I know it. This is Blue Team: Everything's a little bit screwy. But we always find out way back, I promise."

"I hope so." Tennessee murmured. "But I have a feeling something much worse is going to happen to us."

**A/N:**** DUNDUNDUNNN. Church is an asshole. LET THE DRAMA COMMENSE! This will be fun. **

**Sorry for the slow updates – Festivities and all. D; HAPPY NEW YEAR! 8D**


	7. Always

**Chapter 7**

**Always**

The next morning was crisp, and the snow had begun to melt away at long last. It was almost as though the intensity between the Blue Team had turned into heat, and was affecting the wintery conditions outside. Church had resulted to cleaning up the front room, as his and Caboose's dispute had left a huge mess in its wake. He had felt a little depressed about the whole thing, but he knew he'd fucked some other things up between Tennessee and Caboose, and the fact Tucker hadn't returned yet was a sign he wasn't impressed either. He decided to stay in the base, and let them return in their own time. Church simply sat in the front room drinking coffee, and waiting in hope that someone would give him a sign that they had returned, but he knew that it wouldn't be that easy. Nothing is that easy.

When Tucker awoke the following morning, the first thing he noticed was the fact that Tennessee was no longer beside him. He looked up at Caboose who simultaneously looked away, and he frowned.

"Where did she go?" He asked quietly, and Caboose hesitantly returned his gaze to Tucker, but Tucker realised Caboose was still extremely upset and nothing had been fixed overnight. Caboose looked glum, and his voice only mimicked his expression.

"She said something about wanting to be alone." Caboose said bluntly, and he looked at the floor, one hand on his head. Tucker watched him as the deep blue armoured Spartan made patterns on the dusty floor with his other hand. _Church has ruined him_; he thought privately, _I need to get him talking to Tennessee. She can fix this, I know it._

"Caboose, listen to me, and I need you to listen carefully." Tucker said sternly, as a teacher would do to a student, but with a huge amount of care thrown into his words. "Tennessee wants nothing more than for you to be happy. She cares about you more than any of us, and you mean the world to her." Caboose looked up at Tucker, confused as to why the aqua Spartan had spoken to him in such a way. He had never cared before, so why did he suddenly care now? Cabooses expression was dim, but was filled with interest at the same time.

"I need to ask you one simple question." Tucker murmured to the cobalt Spartan. "Do you want Tennessee to be happy to?" Caboose looked away, picked up his helmet and stood up abruptly. "Caboose?"

"You know the answer." Caboose replied, before putting his helmet on. "But it is not that easy. It is never that easy." Caboose nodded to Tucker then left the cave, heading towards the red base. Tucker blinked and watched his comrade leave, and as he did so, he stood up too, brushing off his armour and putting on his helmet before heading back to the Blue Base, hoping Church had calmed down now. He smirked as he left the cave – Yep, the two were definitely love-struck.

Sarge laid on his back upon a couch with his eyes closed, a single hand on his forehead and the other on his stomach. He was near a radiator, but he still felt like shit. There was no doubt about that. The cold had gotten to the red soldier, and he was alone for a while. He wasn't too sure if the latter was a good thing or a bad thing. Grif and Simmons had gone out on a "patrol" (Sarge knew what this meant.), and Donut was cooking with Mina. Sarge had confirmed in the last few months that Mina disliked him. She was always silent around him, and he even once heard her mention his name when she was alone with Grif, and that was never a good sign.

For some reason, it hurt him, and he really didn't understand why. For the first time in years, he was well and truly confused.

"Are you okay, sir?" Sarge turned his head, opening one eye before both shot open – as if it were staged, Mina stood in the doorway, a plate of a food item, Sarge supposed, in her hands. Sarge looked up at the mouse-brown-haired female in front of his before looking away and replying with a sneeze. Mina chuckled and walked towards him.

"I guess not." She sat beside him in a chair and placed the plate on a coffee table.

"I brought you some cake Donut and I made." Sarge laid in silence, but a small smile hinted at his lips. He nodded his thanks, and met the crimson soldiers gaze. "Do you need anything?" Sarge shook his head. "Are you sure?" He nodded without uttering a word. He was enjoying the sound of Mina's voice. He didn't really get the chance to listen to it. "Well, okay, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." Mina smiled at him, a sweet smile that only a small child should possess, but it filled her with a different kind of beauty and charm, and it pretty much kicked Sarge in the head. Mina stood up and turned to Donut who was stood in the doorway, and began to walk towards him.

"Wait, Mina?" Mina turned to Sarge again, a questioning look upon her face.

"Yes, sir?"

"You can just call me Sarge." He murmured, "And you don't mind me, do you?" Mina blinked, then giggled and shook her head.

"Of course not, Sarge." She smiled at him again. "Whatever gave you that impression?" Sarge returned her smile and shrugged, watching her leave with Donut.

"I don't know, Mina." He murmured to himself, closing his eyes again. "You tell me."

Simmons and Grif sat upon a mountain overlooking the Blood Gulch canyon, talking about whatever crossed through their minds. At one point, Simmons turned to Grif, a pondering look upon his face.

"Hey." He murmured.

"Yeah?" Grif replied, turning to Simmons.

"Have you noticed how strange Mina and Sarge are around each other?" Simmons asked casually, but Grif swallowed and responded instantaneously.

"No." He said a little too quickly. "I don't know what you mean." Simmons looked into Grifs eyes, but the orange Spartan turned away.

"You're hiding something!" Simmons declared. "Tell me, Grif!" Grif went rigid, and he balled his hands up tightly.

"No!" He cried as Simmons tackled him onto his front. The Maroon Spartan sat atop of the smaller orange one, and crossed his arms like an unimpressed child. "Simmons, you don't understand! I _can't_ say! I would break my promise!" Simmons scoffed at his partners words.

"Let me guess," He muttered, "Mina's in love with Sarge." No reply came to him. "Holy shit." Grif squirmed underneath the maroon Spartans weight.

"Yeah, shut up." He grunted, clawing at the dirt. "Please remove your fucking ass off of my back." Simmons stood and helped Grif up, before their attention was drawn to a Spartan in dark armour walking alongside the river that ran through the valley.

"Is that Texas?" Grif asked, and Simmons shook his head.

"No, that's Tennessee." He stated, and gestured to the figure below them. "Look at the helmet." Grifs head raised in acknowledgement, but then he cocked his head to the side as Simmons continued. "But why is she alone? Where's Caboose?"

"Maybe they argued?" Grif shrugged, and Simmons shook his head and sighed.

"Don't be stupid." He said, nudging into the orange Spartan gently. "Those two are like you and Oreos." Grifs brow raised and he nodded once.

"Point taken." They were silent for a few seconds. "Should we talk to her?"

"I don't know." Simmons replied. "Perhaps we should."

"Maybe we should– Holy shit!" Grif took a step back and pointed upwards. "What the fuck is that?" Simmons followed Grifs gaze to the large pelican heading towards them.

"We should tell Sarge." Simmons said quietly, but Grif nodded in agreement. "Like, right now." The two turned and ran back closely towards the base, quicker than what would have been thought physically possible; For Grif, anyway.

Tennessee raised her head at the oncoming pelican. She knew they would come for her again one day. But now everyone in Blood Gulch was in danger, and she had to get them all out of the oncoming storm alive. The dark Freelancer jumped into action, bolting across the canyon as fast as her legs would take her, leaping over rocks and debris as she went, dirt flying out behind her heels. Tucker and Church didn't half give her a look when she ran into the front room panting, her DMR in her hands. She quickly registered Caboose was nowhere to be seen.

"What's the rush, Tenn?" Tucker asked, and she gestured upwards.

"Insurrectionists are going to try to take over Blood Gulch." She said briefly. "Where's Caboose?" Tucker and Church had both stood up and started to put their armour on, but at her question Tucker looked at her a little worriedly.

"I thought he went to look for you." He admitted, pulling on his gloves.

"Shit." Tennessee breathed. "Okay, you two suit up, Caboose already has his armour on. Take the warthog to Red Base. If Sarge asks, tell him it's for his own good, and he'll have to have a physical talk with me if he thinks otherwise."

"What about you?" Church asked, loading his assault rifle.

"I need to find Caboose." She murmured, and turned to leave.

"Hey, Tennessee?" She turned back and looked at Church. "I'm really sorry." Tennessee shrugged, and picked up a shotgun near her, swapping it for her Sniper.

"It's not me you should be apologising to." She said bluntly, then as quick as lightning, she was gone. Church stared at where the Freelancer had left, then Tucker stood beside him a little absent-mindedly.

"You know," The aqua Spartan murmured. "I still think it looks like a Puma."

Caboose watched the pelican wearily, feeling a little intimidated. He clutched onto his assault rifle, and under his helmet, bit his lip. His intercom crackled, and then Tennessee's voice suddenly filled his ears.

"Caboose? This is Tennessee, it's important. Come in." Caboose raised a hand to his helmet, and cleared his throat.

"Yeah, this is Caboose." He said, still observing the pelican. "What's up?" He realised what he had said, and went to correct himself, but Tennessee beat him to it.

"A few fucking pelicans carrying a few hundred, maybe thousand, Insurrectionist soldiers." She grunted as she jumped onto the Blue Teams warthog as it whizzed by. "Head to Red Base. We'll talk properly after this shit has passed. I have something important to tell you."

"Well, uh, okay." Caboose replied, feeling confused, but he turned and began to jog towards Red Base. "I'll meet you there." For once in his life, as the pelicans began to drop soldiers with Scorpions, he felt incredibly frightened. All he wanted was to be safe with Tennessee again.

In barely a few minutes after every member from Blood Gulch met in Red Base, and Tennessee explained the situation to Sarge, the two teams were already under fire. They were getting overwhelmed, and quickly. Tennessee quickly broadcasted to the Freelancer HQ to anyone who heard her, hoping someone was waiting for a call.

"This is Agent Tennessee requesting for back up at Blood Gulch Outpost. We are under attack. I repeat: We are under attack." She quickly fired her shotgun at an approaching Insurrectionist. "Insurrectionists have found their way to the Blood Gulch outpost and they are in hundreds with heavy military. We need an immediate dispatch – No members of the outpost are harmed as of now."

"Tennessee!" A familiar voice came back through the intercom.

"Wash!" Tennessee called back. "You got that, right?"

"Yep!" Wash replied, boarding a Freelancer Pelican. "I got a team here, and we're dispatching as we speak. We have Doctor DuFresne, also, for safety measures." Tennessee gave him her thanks, before being cut off as a grenade exploded nearby.

"Shit!" Grif exclaimed, and clung onto Simmons' arm by instinct.

"Grif, get off me!" Simmons said, his voice hoarse. "You're fucking up my aim!" Further along the base line, Mina and Sarge both wielded shotguns, and were blasting the insurrectionists backwards. The two were back-to-back, and Sarge elbowed and insurrectionist in the face as Mina ducked beneath his arm to shoot an Insurrectionist advancing on him.

"Hey," Sarge shouted over the blasts of numerous gunshots. "Is now a bad time to say I like you style?" The two switched places, Mina rolling against Sarge's back and shooting an insurrectionist behind him as he turned. She ducked under one of the soldiers fists and she blasted it in the stomach.

"Kind of." She called back. "But I like yours too." Sarge's fist slammed into an insurrectionists face, and Mina's leg into the stomach of another. "Maybe if we make it through this bullshit we could- Oh fuck!" The pressure on Sarge's back was removed at her cry, and he turned to see that Mina had been pushed backwards and a grenade had blown up part of the wall that she was now embedded under the debris of.

"Mina!" Sarge cried, and turned to Church. "Church, I need you to cover me, we have a soldier down." Church punched an insurrectionist in the face before leaping over dead bodies to Sarge and standing with his back to him, making sure the red soldier could remove the rubble from the crimson one. Sarge scrabbled at the broken bits of the base revealing the limp body of Mina. Her eyes were closed, but she was breathing. Sarge pulled her out of the tight space and raced down to the holographic room his old robot Lopez had built, before kneeling down and lying the crimson soldier on the floor carefully. He removed his helmet and looked down at her with care – Mina was looking up at him, a small smile hinted at her lips.

"I'm an idiot." She stated, her voice barely managing a whisper as she looked up at the ceiling.

"It's not your fault." Sarge replied, and they heard a large explosion from above the duo.

"If I die-"

"You are not going to die." Sarge grunted. "I will not allow that to happen. No soldier of mine dies. Not even Grif." Mina looked at him sympathetically.

"_If_ I die," She continued. "Could you … Stay with me until the end?" Sarge looked down sadly, but partly in shock, too.

"Of course I will." Mina lifted a weak hand and touched Sarge's face gently.

"Sarge, I'm sorry I avoided you ns blanked you out." Sarge met her gaze again and noticed her eyes were beginning to fill with tears, and he shook his head slowly. "Truth is, I didn't know how to deal with how I knew I felt, how I feel now." Sarge held her gaze this time, and he felt like he was going to cry. A tear rolled down Mina's face and Sarge brushed it away with a gloved hand.

"Then how 'bout I tell you a few secrets?" He murmured softly. "One: I don't hate Grif. Two: I'm not a big fan of Simmons being so much of a kiss-ass. Three: One was a lie. And Four…" He leant a little closer to her, as though it were his biggest secret. "Well, four? I've had a pretty darn huge crush of you since you arrived in the base." Mina smiled at him, but the light was fading from her eyes.

"It's a mutual feeling." She whispered, and Sarge returned her smile, before leaning in and kissing her on the lips softly.

"I promise you, Mina." He murmured. "I give you my word, you will not die. Nobody will die today. We are stronger than that, and I'll be damned if someone gets me near to death."

"You'll stay with me then?" Mina's voice was barely a whisper now, and she could see someone in purple armour jogging towards them, but her vision was blurred. Sarge nodded, a sad smile on his lips, and brushed her hair away from her face.

"Always."

**A/N:** HUGE chapter for you lovely followers 3 I love you guys. Here is the first soppy moment! Woot! (There's actually more to Caboose and Tennessee, but It's in "All I Want For Christmas", and I really need to get that done. 8D I've recently grown a stronger liking towards Sarge. O.o He's such a good guy. But Caboose will always be my wonderful bluetard.33 This is Progressing well. I like this a lot. By the way, I have a**_ DeviantART_** account; Lux-u-ray. Don't hesitate to give me a watch~ I'm thinking about uploading this onto there, too. And for future references, I don't think Caboose and Tennessee will have an extremely "M" rated relationship. (Unless you sicko's want that.(Jkjk)) But Sarge and Mina may, just a warning. But you know, years in the canyon without human needs can be a little tiring. ;D

Thanks for being so patient with me guys. I love you all, okay? 3


	8. Lockdown

**Chapter 8**

**Lockdown**

The intensity of the battle in Blood Gulch had begun to take its toll on the soldiers – Already they were running out of ammo, even though they had brought boxes with them. Tennessee and Caboose fought side by side, but Tennessee glanced at him every now and then, making sure the cobalt soldier wasn't being caught up too much, but if anything, he was ahead. The little Spartan had taken down at least thirty of the Insurrectionists, and still, he reloaded his assault rifle, pummelling any others that tried to take advantage of his current status. Church had rammed a whole clip of his assault rifle into three insurrectionists, while Washington found nearby him, next to Carolina. A lot had happened since Church had last seen the other two Freelancers, and when he realised what the help-party consisted of, he felt a little happier. Wash and Carolina had brought Texas with them, and she … well, she was kicking ass, which wasn't to Church's surprise.

"Hey Epsilon," Wash murmured gruffly, headshotting an Insurrectionist with a DMR.

"Please, Wash," Church mumbled, sticking another one of them. "Call me Church, I beg of you." Wash punched an oncoming soldier.

"Well alright then, Church." Wash sighed. "Why did they come here?"

"It's unclear," Church replied, gunning an insurrectionist down. "But I think it's to do with Tennessee." Wash nodded.

"It's no surprise." He shot a soldier straight through his head. "She caused… Quite a stir in the training facilities." Wash glanced back at the dark Freelancer standing with Caboose, and he suddenly realised all of the bonds she'd managed to make after being transferred to Blood Gulch.

"Maybe if we can put up a shield that will force some of them away." Church suggested, and Wash glanced at him, before elbowing an insurrectionist in the face.

"That's a good idea," He replied, before calling out; "Hey, Tenn! Can you get a shield of some description up?" Tennessee looked over at Wash, and then nodded.

"Sure thing." She turned and headed down a ramp deeper into the base, Cabooses gaze following her.

"Caboose," Wash called to him, and he looked at him in surprise. "Aid her, she might need you." Caboose nodded, shot an insurrectionist in the stomach, then followed Tennessee down the ramp into the base. When he found her, she had her back to him, and she was typing into some kind of keyboard. She turned her head to look at him, before smiling and turning back. Caboose turned his back to her, watching the door just in case. He held a DMR instead of his normal assault rifle – that was on his back. He could hear the vigorous typing of Tennessee's fingers against the keyboard. After what felt like an eternity, she finally spoke up.

"I'm glad you're here with me." Caboose turned his head a fraction to listen, his gaze not leaving the door, but he kept quiet. "Your presence makes me feel more … secure." She chuckled, and turned her head to look at him. "You always were my favourite." Caboose turned around fully this time, and he noticed that Tennessee's helmet was on the floor by her feet, and she was smiling at him.

"What do you mean?" He moved closer, and she turned away, tapping some more keys. "I do not think I understand." Tennessee smiled again.

"What I mean is…" She cut off, and seemed to focus on something on the screen. "Behind you!" She cried. Caboose span around at the sound of a gun firing, and went down onto one knee, a bullet from his DMR piercing the Insurrectionists visor and skull, a nasty mess of blood and brains falling down in front of them.

"Nice shot." Tennessee praised, "The shields are… are you okay?" Caboose hadn't moved, so she knelt down beside him so she was on his level, and he took a bloodied hand away from his side, a small whimper escaped his lips as he looked up at Tennessee, whose eyes were wide with fear and disbelief.

"No…" Tennessee breathed, touching the outside of the wound lightly. Caboose looked into her fearful eyes, and he felt worry arise in his gut.

"Am I going to… die?" Caboose asked, his voice shaking.

"N- no…" Tennessee stuttered. "I- I…" Simmons and Grif ran into the room, hearing the gunfire from down the hall, and Simmons held his breath as Tennessee looked up at them.

"Get Doc!" She cried, and then Simmons had left the room, Grif in tow, hunting for Cabooses life-saver.

"It is okay." Caboose sighed. His weight was on Tennessee now, and she had a single arm around him. With her free hand, She pulled off his helmet, and his azure eyes met hers. "We are all to die. It is a shame that my death is like this." He forced a chuckle, and Tennessee smiled, tears threatening to spill.

"You're not going to die." She murmured as Caboose lifted his non-bloody hand to wipe away a tear that escaped her.

"Do not cry for me." He murmured, his eyes still a little bright, but it was apparent that they were getting dull. "I am not worth the effort."

"Oh, but you are." Tennessee whispered to him. "You always will be." Caboose closed his eyes and smiled.

"I like you." He said softly, and Tennessee pulled a face of confusion, but she understood what he meant as soon as his cheeks turned a light shade of red, and he was obviously holding back bursting into tears.

"Oh Caboose…" She whispered. "Are those the words you really wanted to say?" Caboose shook his head, as tears began to fall down his face. Tennessee kissed his forehead and sighed. "I like you too." Caboose laughed weakly, as Doc and Grif entered the room. Cabooses head rested against Tennessee's lap as Doc worked on his wound. Every now and then he would wince, but Tenn noticed his gaze never left hers. Church, who had wandered down when the gunfire had slackened, also noticed the strange connection that was reignited, and as annoying as Caboose was, he prayed that the cobalt Spartan made it out of this alive.

As night fell upon Blood Gulch, the fighting had died down, and the remaining insurrectionists had left. The Freelancers took the deceased insurrectionists bodies back in pelicans to be analysed, while the Reds and Blues returned to their Bases. Doc had to stay by Caboose, as his wound was deep, but even then, in possibly the most painful moment he had suffered, the little Cobalt soldier was still smiling. Church had admitted, only to himself of course, that Caboose was possibly one of the strongest out of all of them. Church had stood on the top of the Blue Base all night, and as he looked across at the Red Base, he wondered, for once, how the Reds were faring after such an unexpected battle. He knew one of their soldiers was injured, but he didn't know if anyone else was. He turned as he heard footsteps behind him, and Tucker approached him, his helmet off, under his arm.

"What a day, hunh." Tucker murmured as he stood beside Church, both of them looking out at Red base.

"Mm." Church raised his head slightly. Tucker picked up on his thoughts, and nudged him gently.

"Hey, Caboose will be fine." Church looked at Tucker. "Tenn's not leaving his side, nor is Doc. He'll pull through this, you know what he's like." Church nodded once, before looking up at the Halo ring.

"I hope you're right."

Simmons and Grif had stood in silence in the front room, while an anxious Sarge paced up and down the room. The two couldn't help his despair right now – their injuries didn't even begin to compare to his. Grif's armour had been cut into, and Donut had told him that the wound on his chest would scar, but it wasn't critical. Neither was the bullet wound in Simmons' leg, which now had a bandage wrapped around it. Simmons was nervous while he stood beside Grif, who looked up at him every so often to see if he had calmed down any more, but the tall Maroon armoured man was still pale, and Grif could feel Simmons' hand tremble against his own. Grif intertwined his fingers with Simmons' and gave his hand a small squeeze, to which he got a small squeeze and an attempted, reassuring smile back. Grif looked back at Sarge – The golden Spartan would usually have taken advantage of the Red-Team leader's state, but not this time. He knew how he felt. Grif grimaced as the forbidden memory of Simmons' lifeless body appeared in his head – This nightmare tormented him, even though Simmons had made it through the rough time. Simmons looked down at Grif, whose eyes were now dull, and he moved his arm around his shoulders, before looking back up at the leader he looked up to so much. To see him in this state pained him, but all three red soldiers looked up as Donut stood in the doorway, his hands nervously rubbing against each other. Sarge's face couldn't be seen behind his helmet – he rarely took it off. But Simmons and Grif both knew that Sarge would keep to himself if something like this had happened, and Simmons could almost imagine that it never had. Sarge had always been independent, ever since Simmons joined his team, but he had realised that the red Spartan had grown closer towards the crimson female just before the insurrectionists had arrived. He looked down at Grif again, and thought to himself, maybe if it had been Grif that had been stuck, it would have ended up differently - definitely for him, but for Sarge? Would he care? Probably not. But despite this, something told Simmons that Sarge _would_ care.

Donut met Sarge's gaze after a moment of contemplation, then jerked his head backwards a little, a signal for Sarge to follow him. The red leader almost found himself unable to move, the already sickening feeling deepening and embedding itself in his gut. He forced himself towards the pink- no, _lightish red_,soldier, and followed him a little way down the hallway. Donut stopped when he knew they were out of hearing range, and turned to the leader before him.

"I've got good news and bad news." He said bluntly, but his voice wavered. The event with Mina had hit him like a kick in the stomach – she was probably his closest friend within this team. Sarge swallowed the bile that had found its way into his throat, and almost choked on his words before they'd come out of his mouth.

"Right…" Was all he managed, and Donut sucked in a load of air.

"The good news, is that Mina's recovering." Sarge let out a sigh of relief, but Donut cocked his head to the side slightly.

"And the bad news?" Sarge pressed on.

"The bad news…" Donut looked up at Sarge's visor, the little blonde Spartan no longer feeling intimidated. He knew now that Sarge would be too devastated to take his anger out on anyone. "Well, the bad news is that she's broken some of her ribs, and one of her wrists." Sarge's breath and heartbeat stopped briefly. "I don't think she'll ever be able to fight again." Sarge suddenly looked as though he was in thought.

"If it comes to the worst," He murmured. "She can go back to Earth." Donut smiled slightly, and gestured to down the hall.

"You can go and see her," He kept a small smile on his lips. "She's probably awake from her nap now, and she's been asking how you were since she came back around." Donut ended up grinning – maybe that should have been the good news, because Sarge seemed to perk up a little at that, and he put a hand on Donut's shoulder.

"You're a good soldier, Donut." He nodded, and turned down the hall. Donut watched him leave, then roamed back into the front room, where Grif and Simmons were now sat on a couch in each other's arms. To the lightish red Spartans disbelief, Grif appeared to be … _crying_ …

Simmons looked up at Donut, and gave him a lopsided smile, as Grif buried his face into Simmons' chest. Donut walked closer to where they were sat, and sat down in a chair opposite them.

"Hey," Donut, looked at Grif, who turned his head slightly, but the golden soldier refused to let his face be seen. "Mina will be fine, it's okay. Sarge is with her now. That'll perk her up." Grif's grip around Simmons' waist seemed to tighten, and Simmons chuckled a little.

"That means he's happy." The maroon Spartan met Donut's gaze and smiled, to which the lightish red soldier returned the gesture. It had been a while since Donut had felt like he meant something to the Red Team, but he was feeling it now.

Sarge stood outside the metallic door for what felt like an eternity, his hand resting on the door handle as he contemplated whether bothering her was a good idea. As he went to turn the handle the door suddenly opened by itself, or at least it appeared like that. Sarge stood still for a moment, staring through the doorway, disbelieving what had just happened, but then Mina poked her head around the corner, and he shook his head.

"What are you doing?" He asked, perhaps a little more gruffly that he should have, but Mina picked up on his anxiety.

"Walking." She replied, and she winced as she spoke.

"You're still hurt, Mina." Sarge walked through the doorway, and stood in front of her. He suddenly noticed the size contrast between them, and it scared him a little. "You have to go back to bed and rest."

"No I don't." Mina's hazel eyes gazed into his, and he stared at her for a moment before looking away quickly.

"Yes, you do." He took his helmet off and rubbed his temples. "Look, I'm telling you this because I care about you. I don't want you hurt." Mina rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Despite the height difference, she wasn't afraid to oppose Sarge at all. Sarge found it slightly annoying, but in an attractive kind of way. It was a little queer, really. "But I want to get better quicker, so I'm getting used to this crap now." Sarge sighed, and looked at her with despair, but a smile hinted at his lips.

"There's no way in winning with you, is there." It wasn't even a question, but then Mina smiled back and hugged him gently, as though not to hurt herself. Sarge was hesitant to this new kind of contact, but then he found his arms over her shoulders, careful to not damage her further. The two stood in silence for a few minutes while Sarge stroked her hair, and he ended up putting his head on her shoulder.

"I only tell you these things because I don't want you hurt." He murmured after a while, and Mina rested her head on his chest.

"I know…" She sighed. "I just… This wouldn't have happened if I'd just paid attention." Sarge stood back and looked her in the eyes.

"Are you implying this is your fault?" Mina didn't reply, she simply looked up at him, a pleading kind of look in her gaze. "Mina, the only person whose fault this is, is the insurrectionist that threw the grenade at you. Don't blame yourself." Mina lifted the hand up that was broken at the wrist, and twiddled her fingers.

"But still." Sarge took her hand in his gently. "It could have been prevented."

"But it wasn't."

"But it _could have been_." Sarge sighed, and kissed her forehead.

"You're as stubborn as I am, Mina." She looked up at him and smiled, before adding cheekily;

"And I'm guessing you like that?" Sarge blushed and looked away, and she laughed, ignoring the pain in her chest. Sarge looked back at her, and smirked, ruffling her hair.

"Go to bed." He received a soft thwack around the head in response. "Now."

"Make me." Mina backed away from him, and he stared after him as she threatened to leave the room.

"I'll count to three…" Mina took a step backwards. "One…" Another step. "Two…" She didn't move this time, instead, Grif stood behind her, and Sarge picked up on this carefully. "If you take one more step, Mina, the monsters from the hall way will get you." Mina stood up straight, an eyebrow raised.

"Monsters? Really?" She laughed, and Grif picked up on Sarge's message, readying himself into a stance behind her. "Yeah, okay. Are you like this with the rest of your team members, I mean, like a complete and utter idi- OH MY GOOD LORD." Mina lurched forwards into Sarge's arms just as she stepped back, as Grif had tentatively touched her sides. Grif stumbled backwards and burst out laughing, having to lean against the wall for support while his chest rose and fell uncontrollably. Mina seemed to be hyperventilating a little, but she looked up at Sarge and scowled, but for once, the red Spartan was laughing alongside Grif. Mina embraced the moment, as well as Sarge, for maybe, just maybe, Red Team had taken a turn for the better.

**A/N:** Oh jeeze, it's been a while. Hello again! I _finally_ got round to updating AIHTEW! It took a bit of a kick up the bum, but after a while, I thought, "Hey, I miss Sarge and Caboose. Better write about my imagination again!" Here's a fun fact; This FanFiction started out as a dream. C: One night I dreamt about being a Freelancer, and I had been flown to Blood Gulch to take over Tex's position… During the time I was there, I fell in love with Caboose. Ahhh. It's a fun life. The reason I brought Mina into this, was because Sarge is my second favourite character, and I felt bad about getting him into Tenn, then letting him down. I mean, _he's a fake character why do I feel like this_? Oh well.

I hope you enjoy the 8th chapter to AIHTEW! I don't think there's be over 15 chapters… I'll probably struggle with just 12 alone, but we'll see. Maybe I'll end it dramatically and write a sequel. C; Tell me what you think in the review section, or you can tweet me at; SecretlySpartan, use the "ask" box on tumblr; .com, message me on DeviantART; Lux-u-ray, or maybe even check out my "Agent Tennessee" page on Facebook, and leave a post there.

Good day!

-DT


	9. All the Lights in the Sky

**WARNING!:**** It is ****_advised_**** that you read "All I Want For Christmas" (If you haven't already) before continuing! A lot of things from there are mentioned in this chapter, and it may become confusing if you don't read it beforehand! -DT**

**Chapter 9**

**All the Lights in the Sky**

Tennessee had stayed by Caboose's side for days, as the little cobalt Spartan had regularly fallen unconscious due to a mixture of blood loss and shock. Occasionally, he would awaken from a bad dream, and Tennessee would hush him as he fell asleep again. It broke her heart to watch him suffer, and she couldn't sleep because of it. The Freelancer barely left his side, sitting in a chair next to his bed, holding his hand as he fought his way through nightmares.

One evening, Church had walked down the hallway to visit his fallen comrade, but he hesitated outside the door as he heard talking coming from the inside. His heart skipped a beat – Had Caboose finally pulled through? He waited until more words came through… No, it was Tennessee. She was whispering things to her friend, possibly comforting things that would repel some nightmares. Church wondered if walking in would have been appropriate, but his actions were hardly controlled by him by the time he did so. He opened the door quietly, and apparently Tennessee hadn't been phased, so he listened to her voice echo lightly in the dim-lit room.

"We never did make muffins together." She murmured, and Church watched as she wound her hand around Cabooses. "You always said you wanted to. Surely that's worth waking up for. Just make sure you do wake up, okay? I don't know what I'd do if you didn't, I don't…" Her voice trailed off, and Church could detect the sadness in her voice, and it pained him greatly, which shocked him. Tennessee had obviously had a huge effect on the Blue Team, and he had only just picked up on that.

"You're really trying you best, hunh?" He murmured almost out of his control, and he realised he probably sounded like an asshole. No change there, then. Tennessee didn't look at him – she must have known he was there for a while, but she nodded, acknowledging his presence.

"I want nothing more than for Caboose to be well again." She said softly, her free hand reaching for Caboose face, and she stroked his cheek absent-mindedly. "He's what I value the most - besides the team in its entirety, of course. But let's face it," She looked up and her gaze met Church's. "Blue Team would mean nothing without Caboose. You should know that better than anyone." Under his helmet, Church smiled. Of course he knew that, he still remembered when the idiot turned up, for God's sake. Tennessee was focusing on Cabooses face when Church looked down at her again. His eyes drifted from her to Caboose, and back to her again, and before he could stop himself, he suddenly blurted;

"You love him, don't you." It wasn't even a question – It was a statement. All the same, Tennessee went ridged, and she hesitantly looked up at him, before looking back at Caboose and laughing softly.

"Is it really that obvious?" She looked up, and smiled at Church who suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

"Well, you _have_ stayed by his side for every moment he's been in here." He leant against the chair Tennessee was sat in. "You cried when he was hurt, and you whisper things to him in hope that he hears it. I wouldn't be surprised if he does." Church shrugged then, suddenly standing up. "Just a few little hints." Tennessee smiled at him again.

"Maybe I do." She paused. "But I can't tell him that, he might not understand, or know how to take it."  
"Bow chicka bow wow." The two looked up at Tucker, who had junior over his shoulder.

"Was that really necessary?" Church questioned and Tucker shrugged.

"I guess not." He looked at Tennessee and smiled faintly. "Have you even slept since the incident?" He murmured, and Church frowned – it wasn't one of Tucker's qualities to care about someone. _Unless…_ Church bit his lip – if that was the case, he probably overheard their conversation, and he'd find a very grumpy Tucker later.

"No, actually." Tennessee replied, "I hadn't even considered that thought." Tucker switched Junior to his other shoulder – the baby Elite appeared to be asleep.

"You should rest." He murmured. "You know, in case he wakes up. I'll see you later, maybe." With that, the teal Spartan had left the room. Church sighed again – Tucker was definitely not pleased, that's for sure. He put a tentative hand on Tennessee's shoulder.

"Rest," He said softly. "Rest here, just please get some sleep. You never know if the Insurrectionists will come back." Tennessee gave him a small nod.

"I will." Church gave her a final smile, before leaving the room. Tennessee looked down at Caboose a final time, before slowly but surely, falling asleep beside him.

When the Freelancer awoke, she realised she'd been woken to the sound of humming, which confused her. She almost thought Donut was in the base, but by the time she opened her eyes, the humming had stopped, and silence filled the room.

"You're awake." A voice murmured – Tennessee couldn't recognise the voice. Either she was too tired, or someone new came into the Base while she was sleeping. She felt a hand rest on her head, and she began to sit upright. She very quickly gathered that Caboose was no longer lying in the bed she was sleeping against, but then she whipped her head upright, and looked up at him smiling down at her.

"Tucker said you were dead." He said in his usual idiolect. "Buut… I knew he was, ah… lying." Tennessee wanted to lunge forwards and hug the life out of him, but she ignored that feeling and beamed at him. "Right before I woke up, I had a good dream! Unlike all those other horrible nasty dreams." He smiled, more to himself than to her, and a faraway look glazed his eyes. "I like good dreams."

"So what happened?" She asked, and Caboose's face turned into a light shade of red.

"Um. I cannot tell you that." He sounded strangely nervous.

"Aw," Tennessee pouted. "Why not?" Caboose grinned widely, suddenly realising the potential teasing he could use this with.

"It's my biggest _ever_ secret! Not even Church can know!" Tennessee smiled softly – this probably meant the two had a little talk and regained trust again while she was asleep.

"That big, hunh?" She questioned, and Caboose nodded and edged a little closer towards her, then a look of sudden maturity spread across his face.

"You will end up finding out." Caboose sighed. "My secrets are never secret for long. Once Tucker knows, everyone knows." He suddenly looked upset, so Tennessee placed her hands on his.

"I wouldn't tell a soul." She reassured him, but he shook his head.

"I am sorry." He murmured, and then suddenly changed the subject. "What am I to you?" Tennessee blinked at the sudden question.

"What do you mean?" She asked, and Caboose frowned.

"You cannot answer a question with a question!" He teased. "What am I to you? What do I mean to you?" He rephrased the question. Tennessee covered her mouth slightly in thought.

"Well…" How to put everything into something that's not three words… "You're my closest friend, my best friend. I care about you a lot. I don't even think I would be able to survive without you anymore." She smiled at Caboose, whose crystal eyes gazed into her own. "Coming to Blood Gulch was the best mistake I've ever made … so far." She winked at the cobalt soldier, who flushed red, and he fiddled with his blue shirt. Tennessee suddenly counteracted the already embarrassed soldier.

"So… what am _I_ to _you_?" Caboose looked up at her, and the faraway look appeared in his eyes again. When he finally responded, he locked his eyes onto hers.

"To me, you're like a sister," He seemed to become more embarrassed, yet he kept talking. "But not like a sister. You are like a really, really, really, really, reaaaalllyyy close friend to me. I hope you never ever leave us, because I want to always be with you and help you and look after you when you're sick. And I know we have a lot of differences, but you are my bestest ever of best friends. Even more bester than Church!" He stretched his arms out the sides as far away as they would go. "And I love you this much!" Tennessee's lips curved into a large smile, and she swore she almost cried. The feeling filling her was phenomenal, but then Caboose shyly continued; "Um, Tennessee, I'd really really like it if you'd be-"

"Hey, you're awake." Church walked through the door grinning. "How do you feel?" Caboose stared at Church hesitantly, almost as though he didn't want to look at him.

"Uh. I am fine." He took an uneasy glance back at Tennessee who was curious to the end of Cabooses sentence.

"That's good to hear." He replied, before murmuring, "I wasn't, uh, interrupting anything, was I?" Tennessee almost spoke up, but then Caboose murmured;

"No, it's okay." But the light had gone from his eyes. "I'm going to go to my room now, I feel much better. I need to stretch my legs too." Caboose swung his legs over the side of the bed, and walked briskly out of the room. Church looked at Tennessee and shook his head.

"I'm sorry." He murmured. "Go to him. He needs you now more than ever. And I believe you have something to tell him." Tennessee met his eye contact, and the light blue Spartan smiled softly. "I heard the way you were talking. Tell him. He won't run and hide, Tenn." The Freelancer broke into a smile, and nodded to him, standing up. As she went to walk past him, she elbowed him lightly and grinned.

"Hey, you're actually a really good person," She built him up… "When you're not being an asshole." And knocked him down, but he chuckled.

"Thank you." He replied, lightly shoving her with his hand. "I'll keep that in mind."

Tennessee headed to her room first, changing into a black vest top and some skinny-jeans, before walking into the kitchen and picking up a plate of cookies, as well as a glass of orange juice. She found herself walking down the hallway with a smile on her face, and it confused her. She was so happy, but she was oblivious as to why, really. She pushed Cabooses door open lightly, and to her surprise, he was stood in the far side of his room, holding his helmet in his hands, staring at it mindlessly.

"Hey," She murmured, and he turned to her, smiled, then looked back at his helmet. "I brought you some cookies and some orange juice." Caboose turned around fully then, and walked towards her, his helmet still in his hands.

"My armour is broken." He murmured bluntly, but he held up his helmet after she put the orange juice and cookies on his table. "Everything but my helmet. I think it is interesting, how my helmet is unscathed, but the rest of my armour is fully broken." Tennessee looked at him strangely.

"How is that amusing?" Caboose grinned at her.

"Because you fixed my visor, silly!" He exclaimed, and Tennessee looked fascinated.

"Oh yeah, of course." She cocked her head to the side, and frowned. "How did I forget that?" Caboose shrugged, and turned away, placing his helmet on a desk next to his bed that was covered in drawings. Instead of looking back at the Freelancer, he appeared to stare at one of the drawings on his desk, and he raised a hand to touch it, as if it were precious to him.

"Are you okay?" She murmured, walking up towards him, and the cobalt soldier turned to look at her, his eyes a little misty.

"Why is everything so difficult?" He asked, and turned away. Tennessee frowned – the sudden change in subject startled her.

"What are you finding difficult?" Caboose was silent for a moment.

"Emotions."

"Emotions?" Tennessee repeated.

"Yeah." Caboose walked to his bed and laid onto it, staring at the ceiling. "I do not understand them." Tennessee sat next to him.

"Tell me how you feel." She murmured, and Caboose looked down at her, his head moving slightly. "Go ahead, pour your heart out."

"Ah, I don't know." Caboose turned onto his side so he could look at her better. "I feel lot of things right now. Hate, love, compassion, desperation, loneliness..." Tennessee raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you and what have you done with Caboose?" She teased, and Caboose rolled onto his back again and laughed a little.

"I will tell you something secretive to me." He murmured, smiling to himself. "I do not like being the idiot of this team, but I have no choice now. All I wanted was to fit in, but I think that if I tried to now, it would be too late, and they would try to kill me." Tennessee smiled at Cabooses hidden literacy, and reached for his hand before sympathetically patting it.

"Just be yourself around me." She replied, and he sat up, looking at her carefully. "I'll never judge you for being yourself. That's what idiots do." Caboose smiled at her, then his eyes twinkled.

"I have to show you something!" He swung his legs over the bed and ran towards the door. "I've been meaning to for a while now, but I… I never got the chance." Tennessee followed the cobalt Spartan outside onto the roof of the base, where he looked up and seemed to anticipate something. Tennessee looked up also, but all she saw were faint stars on the blackest of skies.

"Wait for it. It will be here soon!" Caboose's gaze continued to flick around the sky, before a light shade of green wisped across it. "Look! There! Look at the lights!" Tennessee looked upwards again, and was suddenly fascinated by the colours in the sky that occurred spontaneously. The two stood in silence, captured in awe by the natural lights that were framed by the bright stars surrounding them and mingling in between them. Tennessee reached for Cabooses hand, who took it without a word. After a while, their fingers intertwined, and Caboose suddenly fell aware of what had overcome them both, and he looked down at Tennessee. Before she could react, however, he turned to her, and she looked up at him.

"You know I was talking about emotion?" He asked, and she nodded. "And you remember that time at the end of the Christmas party?" Another nod. "Well, uh, I've been thinking… Ever since then, it's always been on my mind. I've never had that kind of … feeling … towards someone, and you've been here for me since you got here all that time ago…" Tennessee turned to him now, listening to his words carefully. "So I was wondering… if maybe you'd like to spend some more time with me. Like we did back then, in that moment?" Tennessee looked confused at his words, so he thought of another way to put it, and he felt the words string together on his tongue, but he didn't know if he could speak them. He looked away, and grimaced. It was never easy, was it? He hesitated, then met her gaze again, a look of determination spread across his face, but it was apparently that it was simply a wall that could break at any moment.

"Tennessee..." He suddenly called her by her first name. "Avery… what I mean to, um, say… Is that I, uh, really like you. Um, no… I… I love you." Tennessee stared at him, and he looked away quickly. "Too soon." He murmured, but then Tennessee squeezed his hand, and shook her head.

"No, it's perfect." She smiled up at him as he looked back at her, and embrace him. "I love you too, Michael." Caboose's eyes widened in a moment of disbelief, and he returned the embrace tightly, burying his face into her shoulder. Tennessee smiled again, and her grip around his waist tightened. After a moment, she looked up at him, and he smiled down at her, before kissing her on the lips briefly, and looking at the sky again. It was quicker and more calm than the one at Christmas. Back then it was full of hesitation and panic, where Caboose had tried to avoid it completely, but he was the one to make the move now instead of Tennessee.

"It's strange to think that all the lights in the sky are stars." Tennessee murmured, her head against Cabooses chest. Caboose's lips curved into a small smile, and he pointed upwards.

"Uh, Not that one. That's a plane." Tennessee looked at him and kissed his jawline – she was too short to kiss anything else, really.

"Alright, smarty pants. No need to get cocky." Caboose chuckled at her, and the two stood there for most of the night, their murmurs stirring no one but themselves.

**A/N:** Good day, DwarfTorja here! Shoutouts to those who can get where the title's inspired from. ;3 So anyway, here's chapter 9, and tadaa! I _finally_ got Caboose and Tenn together. :P I'm currently thinking up ideas, and I plan to bring in some more Freelancers in this, as well, but all of this will probably happen in either a sequel or prequel. I think a prequel to separate the sequel to this will be interesting. Now, I have to admit, the next chapter to this may be the last, or the second to last. It not because I'm losing my throttle, it's because I have some _great_ ideas for a sequel, and I know exactly how to set it out. I think that there will be much more plans and structure between this FanFiction and the next, because I'm going to have a notebook that I'll carry around with me, and every single idea I have will go in there. If anything wants to be seen between any characters here, shout it out – I might add it. :3

Writing a FanFiction for Red vs Blue was probably one of the best things I've decided to do, so I thank each and every follower I've gained, every Review posted, every favourite and even the lurkers that I know are there; some of which _still_ post reviews – it means so, so much to me, and thanks to the world of Red vs Blue, I've met new people and forged great friendships which I know will last a long time. Now I'm not one for begging, but if you haven't already, please post a review, favourite this story if you like it, and let me know if you'd like to see anything done! If you'd rather PM me, you can do so here, send a note to Lux-u-ray on DeviantART or email me at DwarfTorja . Again, thank you for the support! It's you guys that keep me going. -DT


End file.
